


Welcome To The Freakshow

by Red_Maplewolf



Category: Steven Universe - Fandom
Genre: Branding, Burning, Multi, Tigger warning, Torture, especially amethyst, fire branding, im a dick to the characters, implied rape, poor hyena bab
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-02-02 20:42:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12733950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Maplewolf/pseuds/Red_Maplewolf
Summary: Peridot snuggled up to her brother, her tail swishing softly behind her, the quiet chatter of the other creatures in the tent could be heard in the background.The tent fell silent, she sat up with her brother, keeping their eyes trained on the sand of their cage.The silence meant one thing.The freakshow owner had just walked in.





	1. Welcome to the Freakshow

She sat silently on the sand that covered the wooden floor, the fake plants around her poking her and making her skin itchy. The tarp remained draped over the area, just outside of the iron bars that kept her confined to the small space. 

Her tail swished quietly on the sand, her saddened indigo eyes wandering towards the red tarp over her cage, pale purple hair tied back out of her face so the spots on her cheeks would show more. 

She watched the shadows behind the tarp, a large shadow moving in front of the tarp indicating the boss was right outside. Her tail tucked between her legs, her ears flattening as the tarp was ripped off her cage, light flooding her eyes making her squint.

“Behold, Amethyst the Hyena!” 

She could hear the murmurs of the humans, the questions from the little pups with them, she was blinded by the flashes from the cameras, her ears flattening from the wave of sensory input that hadn’t been present before. 

She looked around, spotting her best friend Jasper in the cage next to her, the angry mixed breed growling at all the humans who only seemed to delight in the angered growls of her friend. 

She yelped when a pup grabbed her tail through the bars of her cage, she growled at him in anger, baring her fangs at him as he backed up and clung to his mother who glared at her with hatred for scaring her son. Amethyst climbed up onto the rock in her cage, away from the humans below as they continued to take pictures of her like she was an animal in a zoo.

Then again, she basically was…

Jasper growled at the humans outside of her cage, her tail lashing back and forth in annoyance as she bared her fangs at them, dangerous amber eyes glaring at them with a fiery hatred as they ‘ooh’ed’ and ‘ah’ed’ at her, it made her sick.

Her hatred for humans ran deep, humans were the reason her parents had been killed, the reason she was in that cage, the reason her friend Amethyst had been ripped from her family, the list went on.

She scanned the crowd outside her cage, the humans and their pups gathering to gawk at her. She looked out through the crowd, looking for Holly, wondering if the nervous snow leopard woman was alright, they all worried about her. 

She forced her smiles, fake laughter escaping from her throat at the human’s stupid jokes about her ears and horns, they made her truly angry, if she could she would kill them all.

A flash of color caught her eye, startling her for a moment before looking back at the source of the color. She almost groaned in annoyance at the realisation that the source was yet another human, yet the color of the hair still drew her attention. 

It was a woman, a human woman, Jasper should have been repulsed like she had always been when she looked at humans, but this one was different. Her ears perked in interest, the anger leaving her body, her mind clearing like a cloudless summer morning. 

Her tail stilled, dropping to the sand that covered the wooden floor of her cage, n longer lashing in anger. Her eyes softened as she looked at the fascinating woman across the circle from her cage, admiring Aquamarine’s shimmering blue wings as the butterfly woman flew around her cage, always more then happy to show off.

The woman looked around, almost as if searching for something, maybe someone to look at next, Jasper didn’t know, but a large part of her wanted the beautiful woman to come over to her.

She felt a pain in her tail and turned around, looking into the eyes of the freakshow owner who was glaring at her in anger, his ringmaster’s cane digging into the fluffy fur of her tail painfully.

“Jasper do something interesting, sing or something, and maybe I’ll give you extra food for dinner” He smirked, the promise of extra food usually motivated the freaks to do what he asked.

Jasper looked at him in annoyance, he was the human she hated the most, he had killed her parents, he had hurt everyone in the freakshow, all her friends, she wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if she ever got the chance. 

‘He wants me to sing? Fine, I’ll sing’

Jasper looked back at the woman who was now admiring Amethyst, the saddened hyena was perched on top of the rock in her cage, probably trying to escape the grabby hands of the human pups.

She had the perfect song to catch the attention of the rainbow haired woman, the woman was like the sirens of myth, drawing her in with some sort of unsung song.

~There I was again tonight~

~forcing laughter, faking smiles~

~same old tired lonely place~

She begun singing, the words leaving her lips in a husky but still quite beautiful singing voice. It was a song she had learned over the years, it was called enchanted, it fit her feelings so well at the moment that she couldn’t help but sing it. 

The freakshow owner often put on the radio for them to listen to so they could learn the songs to sing during the show, brought in more money, which meant they got more food.

She continued to sing, her voice capturing the attention of all the humans, including the mysterious rainbow haired woman.

~Walls of insincerity, shifting eyes and vacancy~

~vanished when I saw your face~

~All I can say is it was, enchanting to meet you~

She stretched out the last word, singing just loud enough to be heard, but just soft enough that everyone was listening for the next word, she had them all mesmerised. Now she was a siren of myth, entrancing them all in her song, capturing them with mystical amber eyes and an almost magical melody.

~Your eyes whispered “have we met?”~

~Across the room, your silhouette~

~Starts to make its way to me~

She sung as amber eyes met dark grey, the rainbow haired woman walking towards her cage as she sung, her voice remaining soft yet husky. She couldn’t take her eyes off the amazing human, their eyes locked as if in a silent conversation, the woman was entranced by her singing, and Jasper herself, was, as the song said, enchanted by her.

~The playful conversation starts~

~Counter all your quick remarks~

~Like passing notes in secrecy~

She stretched the last word again, letting her voice ring out of her cage, through the bars and to the ears of the humans listening, her friends smiling in their cages at her singing voice, her voice that was barely used because of her hatred of doing anything to make the humans happy. 

~And it was, enchanting to meet you~

~All I can say is it was, enchanted to meet you~

She dragged out the words, almost as if doing so would slow time, allow her to stare into the eyes of the mysterious human for just a while longer before her voice rose in volume for the next part of the song.

~This night is sparkling, don’t you let it go!~

~I’m wonderstruck, blushing all the way home!~

~I’ll spend forever, wondering if you knew~

~I was enchanted to meet you!~

She sung loudly, the humans stared at her in awe as she continued singing, staring into the eyes of the rainbow haired woman she intended the song for as she sung her heart out in that cage, her voice softening back down for the next verse. She wasn’t a songbird like Padparadscha, Sapphire or even Garnet, but she could sing her heart out for the one human she just couldn’t seem to hate.

~The lingering question kept me up, two AM who do you love?~

~I wonder ‘til I’m wide awake~

She stood in her cage, on all fours in the small space as the ceiling of the cage hung a foot above her head. Pacing back and forth across the cage for the next verse.

~And now I’m pacing back and forth, wishing you were at my door~

~I’d open up and you would say “hey, it was enchanting to meet you”~

~All I know is I was, enchanted to meet you~

She continued singing until the song was over, quietly trailing off from the words as her siren song ended, watching the humans disperse, some clapping from her performance, but she didn’t care. Her eyes were locked on the rainbow haired human, curiously watching her with amber eyes. Grey eyes staring back at her with amazement that couldn’t possibly be described, but Jasper could see it there, it was easy to read the mysterious woman, the siren-like human who had caught her attention that night.

Jasper took in the rest of the woman’s face, taking note of a puffy red eyes which made her almost growl in anger. The beautiful woman had been crying, Jasper felt the overwhelming urge to kill whoever had made her cry.

They stared at each other, memorising every detail they could see, completely fascinated in a way Jasper couldn’t even begin to describe. 

“Can you speak English or are we going to stare at each other until I have to leave?”

That snapped Jasper out of it, but she was almost tempted to close her eyes and just enjoy the enchanting voice of the woman in front of her. She looked at the rainbow haired human, almost forgetting she could speak English.

“I can speak English” She mentally sighed in relief that she hadn’t stuttered in front of the gorgeous being in front of her, that would have been embarrassing.

“That’s good, because I only really know English, I’m trying to learn German but its not working out very well” The woman replied, a beautiful smile gracing her face

Jasper couldn’t help but smile back, it was contagious, the woman’s joyful smile filled her with such happiness she couldn’t frown even if she wanted to.

“I’m Bismuth by the way”

“Bismuth? As in the rainbow-colored metal?” Jasper asked for clarification. She had heard of the strange metal, the intricate patterns and metallic colors, but she had never actually seen the pretty substance.

“Yep, that’s me” The woman grinned even wider, causing Jasper’s own smile to widen as well. “Are you going to tell me your name?”

“Oh, right, I’m Jasper” Jasper blushed in embarrassment, her mother would have been so disappointed in her lack of manners. Oh, her mother, tears sprung to her eyes at the thought of her dead parents, blinking quickly to rid herself of the tears so the beautiful woman didn’t have to watch her cry. “Sorry, I don’t talk to humans much”

“Understandable, I’m guessing I would like to talk much if I was in there either” 

Jasper’s eyes widened, surprised that the woman-

‘No, her name is Bismuth, and that’s such a pretty name!’

Bismuth was agreeing with her, no human had ever agreed with her, especially not Kevin, that stupid boy was always insulting them like they didn’t have feelings, it made her sick.

“Who was that woman I saw you with earlier? Before you came over here” Jasper asked, she had so many questions, and she didn’t know how long she had to ask them before Bismuth had to leave.

“Oh, that was my friend Pearl, I’ve had a really bad day, so she brought me here to cheer me up, I say its working”

“Seems so, is that why your eyes are red?”

“Yeah”

They fell into silence for a moment, returning to staring at each other intently. Both had so much to say but had no idea where to start, it was almost maddening.

“That song you were singing, it was Enchanted by Taylor Swift wasn’t it?” Bismuth asked finally, breaking the silence between them with one of her questions.

“I guess so, I don’t know the artist, I’ve only heard it on the radio that they turn on when were traveling” Jasper replied, blushing in embarrassment at not knowing the singer of the song

“So how long have you been here?” Bismuth asked, curiosity lacing her voice heavily as she looked up at Jasper with shimmering, dark purple eyes.

“My whole life, I was born in this place” Jasper replied simply, not wanting to get into the details of her childhood in the horrible place.  
“OK, moving on” Bismuth looked sad she had asked such a personal question, but before Jasper could go to say something she began to speak again. “It looks like they’re closing up, would you mind if I came by again tomorrow?”

“We’re in a different place tomorrow”

“I know, but there’s flyers all over town with the dates and addresses, I’m sure ill find where you are tomorrow” 

“Not like I can stop you, but I wouldn’t object to your company” Jasper blushed

“Then ill see you tomorrow Jasper”

Bismuth reached her hand through the bars, poking Jasper on the nose with her finger as she made a ‘boop’ sound from her mouth before she giggled and went back over to the pale woman Jasper had seen her with earlier that night.

Jasper touched her nose silently, a blush spreading across her cheeks darkly as she watched Bismuth leave with her friend, silently praying that she would see the amazing rainbow haired girl again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Sung by Jasper is Enchanted by Taylor Swift, seemed appropriate for this


	2. The Day After

“You have a funny nose” a scratchy voice caught her attention as she walked along the cages

“Excuse me!?” she squawked as she turned, offended, towards the creature in the cage, who had burst out into a fit of scratchy laugher, almost as if her voice was leaving her.

“I said you have a funny nose birdy” the purple haired woman in the cage, her tail wagging back and forth quickly as she stared down at the thin woman from the rock she sat upon in the cage.

“My name is not ‘birdy’ it’s Pearl” She replied in annoyance to the woman which she assumed was half dog or something.

“Ok, message received, I’ll back off, Pearl” the purple haired woman replied, putting emphasis on Pearl’s name 

Pearl narrowed her eyes slightly, a frown creasing her face at the antics of the half animal woman in the cage. She knew that it was possibly just the woman’s attempt to make conversation since she had none to talk to in her cage, it was a thought that made her eyes soften but her frown grew somber instead of annoyed.

“So, what are you exactly? Are you some kind of dog? Coyote maybe?” She asked curiously, trying to keep up the conversation with the purple haired woman who sat perched on a rock in her cage.

“I’m a Hyena” She replied, a grin stretching across her face in a goofy manner that made Pearl smile in return “So what about you? Who was the rainbow haired person I saw you with before?”

“That was Bismuth, she’s my best friend, she went through a really bad breakup today, so I brought her here in the hopes of cheering her up” Pearl explained as she glanced around the area looking for her friend.

She spotted her friend at the next cage over, staring at the singing woman in the cage. She smiled, Bismuth seemed happier then she had been all day, and that had been the goal of the whole evening.

“So, you’re really close?” The Hyena woman asked her, climbing down from the rock to get closer to Pearl, the claws on her fingers digging into the rock as she descended, making small sounds as they clinked against the rock.

“Yes, we are, we grew up together, her family has helped me out more then I could ever repay them for” Pearl replied, her eyes casting to the ground, her shoes were suddenly very interesting

“I’m Amethyst, by the way” she changed the subject quickly, not wanting to upset the first nice human who had ever talked to her.

“As in the gemstone?” Pearl asked

“Yep” Amethyst grinned once more

“Pretty name” Amethyst flushed red, the spots on her cheeks becoming more prominent at the compliment

 

“Pearl? Pearl? PEARL!”

Pearl snapped out of her daydream of the previous night, looking around in a panic before her eyes landed on Lapis, her adopted sister looked at her in concern from her spot across the table as Pearl remembered what she was doing, she had gone out with Lapis to the mall, buying some things for themselves and pampering the adopted baby brother.

“Are you ok? You’ve been spacing out all day” Lapis continued

Said infant sat at a high chair next to them, giggling happily as he played with his newly bought, stuffed Pokémon plushy that they had just purchased for him. Pearl smiled at the adorable two-year-old boy for a moment before her attention snapped back to Lapis. “I’m sorry, I was lost in thought” 

“Found a new girlfriend, did you?” Lapis asked, her patented ‘bob’ voice which usually meant she was bored

“No, just a girl from last night” Pearl blushed softly, her last relationship hadn’t ended very well, she had sworn off dating for a while, but they didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate.

“Oh? What’s her name?” Lapis perked up out of the ‘bob’ voice at the new information of a girl capturing Pearl’s attention, she had always been picky with her girlfriends.

“Her name is Amethyst” Pearl replied with a smile, almost trailing off in thought again at the mention of the beautiful hyena woman.

“We’re just attracted to people with rock names aren’t we? You and I became friends, then mom took us in, she works for Diamond industries, your best friend is Bismuth, we’re both friends with Alexandrite and we’re all friends with the Ruby squad” Lapis grinned

Pearl almost giggled, the ‘Ruby squad’ was the nickname everyone had given to Ruby, her sister, and her younger cousins. They all looked similar and Ruby was the oldest, hence why the ‘squad’ was named after her.

“Seems like it” Pearl replied as she took a drink from her tea she had bought

“We should get going, mom said the car would be here soon” Lapis said as she stood from her seat and started to pick up the bags.

Pearl stood as well and carefully scooped their adopted baby brother into her arms, cooing at him quietly as they headed for the doors of the mall together.

“So how was your night with Bismuth? She looked happy when she dropped you off last night” Lapis looked at Pearl, curious navy eyes looking towards her adopted sister as they got into the pure white limo Rose had sent for them.

“It was fun, we went to the freak show that’s in town” Pearl replied

“Maybe we could take Steven, we’re babysitting again tonight after all and I’d like to see this freak show, plus the party doesn’t start until nine” Lapis replied, somewhat slipping back into the ‘bob’ voice 

“Sure, maybe we can invite everyone, and all go together, I heard Bismuth was planning on going with Alexandrite tonight” Pearl suggested

“Might be fun” Lapis replied as she held Steven close to her during their ride home.

~~Peridot~~

Peridot lay curled up with her brother in their cage, their fluffy tails draped over each other as makeshift blankets. She looked at her brother, her eyebrows furrowing as a frown stretching across her face as her brother coughed once more.

Squaridot had been sick with strep throat for over a week, and it was getting worse by the day. The freak show owner, Dane Danger, never gave them the medicine they needed unless he offered some sort of deal. Even then it was usually hard to convince him to give them the medicine they desperately needed, so diseases ran amuck in the freak show. 

He started coughing again, his body shaking with the force of the coughs that racked his body mercilessly. His ears pressed against his head as the coughing fit continued.

Peridot whimpered quietly, pulling her brother closer with her tail only to be pushed away. 

“Stop it sis I don’t want you getting sick” Squaridot rasped out as he weakly stumbled over to the small heat lamp in their cage, laying under it silently and curling his tail around himself.

Peridot frowned again, she worried for her brother greatly, he needed medicine and the cheapskate owner wouldn’t give it to him. Strep throat was bad for foxes like them, and the fact that they only had one tiny heat lamp in their cage wasn’t enough for two fennec foxes to share.

A noise behind her caused her to turn around, Dane Danger stood at the edge of their cage, his ringmaster’s cane on the bar of the cage as he smirked at them.

Peridot growled at him, baring her fangs at him as her fur on her ears and tail, and even her hair, fluffed up in anger. He refused to give her brother the medicine he needed, so she refused to be nice to him.

“Your twin doesn’t look too good there, fox” he smirked

Peridot continued growling, he never called them by their names, as if they were common animals, it wasn’t right!

“I’ll tell you what, if you do something special to bring in extra cash tonight, I’ll consider giving him medicine for his… Problem” He smirked at the growling fox woman. 

Peridot’s eyes widened, the growl dying in her throat at the mention of medicine, the medicine that could save her brother from suffering, she didn’t know if he was bluffing or not, but with her brother so sick… She couldn’t take the chance.

She nodded at him silently, glaring at him with baby blue eyes as he walked away silently, a smug smirk stretching across his face as he left, making her growl once more. 

The painful coughs from her brother drew her attention away from the smug bastard to look back at him worriedly. Moving closer and rubbing her tail against his back in an attempt to soothe his suffering. 

She sighed as she sat near her brother, draping her tail over him once more in a feeble attempt to keep him warm from the harsh December cold. 

“How is he Peri?” 

Peridot looked to the next cage in response to the saddened voice. Limone sat in the next cage, her short tail somewhat tucked between her legs as she sat against the bars closest to the twins. 

“He’s getting worse…. I don’t know how much more he can take of this…” Peridot’s ears flattened as a weak whimper left her throat quietly, turning to look at her friend through the bars as the dog girl frowned

“I’m sorry Peri, I wish I could help…” Limone looked down to the sand in her cage, picking some of it off her see-through skirt in a pathetic attempt to avoid Peridot’s gaze. 

Peridot looked away from her, knowing full well that her best friend couldn’t help her brother, none of them could, no matter how much they wanted to. 

~~Lapis~~

Lapis got out of the car holding Steven, the little two year old clinging to her sweater and burying his face in her chest in an attempt to hide his face from the cold wind of the winter night as snow fell delicately around them in small, white flakes.

She moved the hood on his winter jacket, so it shielded her baby brother from the chill as the other got out of the car behind her. Each one pulling up the collar of their own coats to shield their skin from the cold as they walked towards the entrance of the freak show, soft chatter from everyone. Asking Pearl and Bismuth question after question about what they had seen at the freak show the previous night. 

“You can’t be serious Bismuth, a woman with horns?” Alexandrite asked, disbelief heavy in her voice as she looked towards the rainbow haired woman walking beside her.

“I shit you not, she sang and everything, ask Pearl”

“No don’t ask Pearl!” Pearl squawked in surprise “I was… Distracted, I didn’t hear it…” Her thin sister blushing bright red as the rest of the group laughed at her flushed face

“Wow something tells me that’s not from the cold Pearl, thinking about whoever you met last night?” Lapis smirked as she elbowed Pearl lightly, the others looking at Pearl with shocked expressions.

“Wait, you met someone last night, and we’re just hearing about this now!?” Sardonyx exclaimed

“Don’t be offended, she spaced out when we were at the mall with Steven, then she told me” Lapis replied quickly as they walked into the tent. 

The tent was warmer then the outside was, but it was still cold, at least the only snow was beneath their feet and no longer falling around them like it had been outside. 

“Well at least we know who Bismuth was talking about” Opal spoke up quietly, drawing everyone’s attention to the rainbow haired woman making her way across the circle to a cage with an amber eyed woman sitting inside, the woman’s ears perked up and her wolfish tail wagging happily as Bismuth approached her cage.

“Wow, she wasn’t kidding, she really does have horns, what kind of animal has horns like that?” Alexandrite asked

“I have no clue, but Pearl found her special friend” Lapis smirked, nodding her head towards her pale sister as she made her way towards a purple haired woman in another cage.

The woman in the cage had canine ears, much like the woman who had caught Bismuth’s attention. Her ears were not as fluffy, and rounder then the woman who was happily chatting with Bismuth. Her tail was short and fluffy, her skin was covered in dark brown spots on her shoulders, forearms and cheeks.

“I have no idea where to start” Alexandrite said, looking around the circle of cages 

Lapis looked around as well, looking at all the different cages until her eyes landed on a woman sitting in a cage with another person that was curled up under a heat lamp, they both had pale blonde hair, sandy colored fox ears and fluffy tails, but she couldn’t see the face of the other person.

She made her way over quietly, still holding Steven carefully in her arms as she walked towards the cage, staring at the blonde woman in amazement.

~~Peridot~~

Peridot continued stroking her brothers back with her tail, praying to whatever god was listening that her brother would be ok. 

She could do nothing but watch her brothers suffering and hope for the best, she had already sung that night, she hoped that was enough to convince the cheapskate to give her brother the medicine. 

“W-Wow” 

Peridot turned at the voice, looking out the bars of her cage as her ears dropped quickly, her sky-blue eyes staring into stunning navy blue. Her sand-colored ears remained down as she stared at the beautiful human in front of her, cobalt blue hair, beautiful tan skin, and a pretty light blue sweater. 

She couldn’t even bring herself to move, all she could do was stare at the living goddess before her. 

A noise broke both of them out of their staring match, making her look down to the woman’s arms where a small kit sat in her arms, squirming around making a crying noise she wasn’t familiar with. 

“Shh Steven, it’s ok, she’s not scary see?” the woman spoke as she lifted the small kit towards the cage so it could look at Peridot.

Peridot looked at the small kit, wondering if he belonged to the gorgeous woman or if she was kit-sitting for a friend. She partially hoped it wasn’t her kit, even if it was selfish, she really liked the woman, she loved the way she smelled, it was a smell she couldn’t even describe. She could imagine a whole life with the blue haired woman, one outside that cage, outside the freak show, living happily in the country with a small orange dog that they would take care of together. 

‘Stop it Peridot, that couldn’t happen, not even in an alternate reality’ 

“You’re really beautiful” 

Peridot snapped out of her thoughts at the woman’s melodious voice as her face flushed a dark shade of red at the compliment from the gorgeous woman.

“T-Thank you, you too. I mean so are you, no wait, I mean you’re very beautiful, y-you’re like a walking goddess” 

Peridot covered her face with her hands, which were quickly changing into soft paws at her strong emotion of embarrassment as her ears and tail grew fluffier. 

A cute little giggle interrupted her mental curses at herself for acting like a total doofus in front of the pretty bluenette, making her look up in surprise, the blush still covering her face darkly.

“That was actually very flattering, thank you” The woman responded, a blush dusting over her cheeks and nose

Peridot couldn’t respond, how had that beautiful woman found her stuttered mess of words flattering?

“I’m Lapis Lazuli, by the way” 

‘Lapis? That’s a pretty name’

“My name is Peridot” 

“Hey, we’re both named after gems” Lapis smiled at her, navy eyes sparkling happily as Peridot’s blush began anew.

Peridot nodded, her tail wagging behind her as the paws started to disappear back into normal human hands. 

“So, you can change yourself to be more like an animal?” Lapis asked her as she took a step closer to the cage

“It’s more of an emotion thing, if I get really flustered or angry then they start to change” Peridot explained as she moved closer to the bars of the cage, her sky-blue eyes staring into stunning navy.

“That is actually really cool, you’re amazing” 

Peridot blushed, that beautiful woman really thought that she was amazing? How was that even possible? She was just a fox freak in a freak show, how could that be considered amazing?

“Aw your tail is wagging, that’s adorable!” Lapis exclaimed happily, the kit in her arms squealing happily in response to her excitement.

Peridot looked over her shoulder at her tail, and sure enough the fluffy, sand-colored tail was wagging a mile a minute behind her, swishing up the sand from the floor of the cage with each wag.

“I don’t normally do this” Peridot squeaked out as she grabbed her tail in her hands, pulling it in front of her and petting the sand out of the soft fur. 

Lapis just giggled, which caused the kit in her arms to giggle as well, clapping his hands with tiny little stars in his eyes that made Peridot smile affectionately at the little bundle of joy.

“Oh this is Steven, my baby brother” 

“He’s cute” Peridot smiled down at the kit, he was a chubby kit, but that didn’t bother her at all, he was adorable, with fluffy brown hair and sparkly brown eyes that made her want to curl her tail around him and snuggle him, it was almost embarrassing.

“Who’s that behind you?” Lapis asked, her curiosity getting the better of her and causing her to change the subject.

“That’s my brother Squaridot, he’s not feeling well so he’s curled up under the heat lamp, it helps us feel better” Peridot explained

“Well that sucks, I hope he feels better” 

~~Alexandrite~~

Alexandrite looked around the freak show, all her friends had found someone to look at but her and it was driving her crazy. A sweet but chilling voice drew her attention, melodic like a siren as it drew her eyes to a specific cage.

~Make me, make me impressed~

~make me, make me obsessed~

Alexandrite walked towards the cage, the woman inside grinning as the words poured from her mouth, her fluffy white hair draping around her face as her orange and black striped tail swishes behind her quickly. 

~Oh, oh, oh~

~oh here we go~

~walking, talking like you know~

~I want your pretty little psycho~

Alexandrite listened to the somewhat chilling song, entranced by the tiger girl in front of her, not even phased when said girl tried to swipe her claws out at another person watching her that had gotten too close to the cage, leaving bleeding scratches on their cheek from the sharp nails.

She knew she should have been scared at the actions of the woman, she had just swiped at someone, but she was so intoxicated by the woman that she just couldn’t bring herself to be scared.

As the song ended the woman looked at her in confusion, the other humans had run off at the chilling song, she was probably wondering what the hell was wrong with the teal haired woman, but Alexandrite didn’t really care.

“You’re a strange woman you know, that right?” The white-haired woman asked, her seafoam green eyes trained on Alexandrite curiously.  
“I guess I am” She replied quietly, her sunglasses shielding her own eyes from the tiger woman in the cage.

“I’m Malachite, though I doubt you care, you humans are all the same” Malachite growled at her, showing off large fangs as her pupils narrowed into slits

“I’m Alexandrite, and you’re at least part human, if not then that’s one amazing monkey species” 

“Half human” 

“You’re not very happy”

“Would you be in this cage?”

“No, I wouldn’t, you’re right”

Alexandrite stepped closer to the cage, she knew the danger, but she didn’t care, she wanted to be closer to Malachite, even if that risked the tiger woman slicing her sharp nails through her neck.

“You have a death wish or something? You saw me swipe at the other people watching me” Malachite asked, confusion dripping from her words as she tilted her head to the side.

“I just want to get to know you better, can’t do that if I’m standing five feet away”

“I guess that’s true” Malachite responded, a small smile stretching across her face as her fangs shrunk slightly. “So why are you wearing those sunglasses? It’s nighttime and you’re indoors” 

“People don’t like my eyes, they get freaked out by them, if I took them off I’d probably be asked to join the freak show” 

“I’m sure that’s not true, you’d have to be a true freak to be imprisoned here”

“Imprisoned?”

“You think I volunteered for this?”

“No I guess not” Alexandrite frowned, Malachite was forced to live in that cage? That was horrible, she’s half human she shouldn’t be locked up in a cage. “What was that song you were singing?”

“Pretty Little Psycho by Porcelain Black, I’ve heard it on the radio a lot, it’s very fitting for me”

“You don’t look like a psycho to me” Alexandrite replied quietly

“Then you need a seeing eye dog”

“That’s not nice”

“Well tough, I’m not nice” Malachite shot back with a huff, her tail flicking back and forth in anger. 

The two fell into silence, staring at each other as if trying to memorize each other’s faces. 

“So, is your hair dyed or natural?” Malachite asked, breaking the silence

“Natural, my boss has blue hair, so does her daughter, like cornflower blue, completely natural” 

“That sounds oddly cool”

~~Peridot~~

The night had been more pleasant then she thought it would be, the other members of the freak show were talking amongst themselves as the people left the tent and disappearing into the cold winter night.

“So Jasper, your rainbow haired friend came back?” Malachite asked as she curled up under her heat lamp, soaking up the warmth from the bulb into her fur and skin, even her hair. 

“Her name is Bismuth, and yeah she did” Jasper replied, a light blush dusted across her cheeks. “What about you? Who was the chick with the teal hair and sunglasses?”

“Alexandrite, she got right up to the bars, she wasn’t scared of me at all” Malachite blushed, her tail swishing happily thinking of the interesting woman she had met that night

“Hey, did you all know humans have finally worked out the same sex couple issues? I met two girls who are engaged to be married next year, they were super funny” Sugilite spoke up from her cage, where she lay on her back under her own heat lamp with a purr in her voice.

“I didn’t know that, that’s good news” Stevonnie added from their cage where they were cradling her, very sleepy, baby cousin Connie, in their arms as she slept peacefully.

“Yeah, that means if we ever get out of here you’ll all be free to get married” Emerald grumbled from her cage, rubbing the bandage over her eye angrily

“Emerald don’t do that, you’ll re-open the wound” Aquamarine scolded from her cage, her wings fluttering softly as she hovered just off the sand in her cage.

“Like I care!? That bastard already scared my face for life! HE BLINDED ME IN ONE EYE!” Emerald screamed, the fur around her neck fluffing up in anger as her fangs grew longer and her hands turned to paws.

“Don’t be a dick man!” Amethyst yelled back “We all have scars from that asshole!”

“Guys Connie is sleeping, please stop yelling” Stevonnie pleaded quietly, still cradling the baby deer girl in their arms.

“Sorry Stevonnie. Guys, knock it off” Smokey Quartz added 

“Let’s change the subject” Sapphire suggested from her cage that she shared with her daughter Garnet and her sister Padparadscha.

“Yes, what about you Amethyst? That woman came back to see you tonight what’s her name?” Garnet added

“That was Pearl, she came with Bismuth last night because apparently Bismuth went through a bad break up and she brought her here to cheer her up” Amethyst explained happily as she curled up under her heat lamp to kill the winter chill.

“Peridot are you ok? You’re very quiet tonight” Padparadscha asked quietly from the cuddle pile she had with her sister and her niece, their fluffed-up wings creating a large shield to keep the heat of the lamp close to their bodies.

“I’m alright, I just hope I brought in enough money that Mr. Danger will give me the medicine for Squaridot” 

“Oh sweetie, is he getting worse?” Rhodonite asked, only receiving a nod in response from the fluffy-haired blonde.

“Oh that sucks Peri” Amethyst frowned

“Well aren’t you all chatty tonight” 

They all fell silent, glaring at the freak show owner Dane Danger as he walked in, smirking as he started tossing packages into the cages with different food and supplies inside. 

They scrambled for their packages, hoping what they needed would be inside them, finding food and for some of them little things for bringing in extra money. 

The owner threw a package in to Peridot, who quickly opened the box and shuffled around inside it, looking for the medicine that could save her brother’s life. 

Her eyes widened, and her ears dropped at seeing that the medicine was nowhere inside the box, not a single bit of medicine in any form was in the box.

“B-But sir, you said you would give me the medicine for my brother if I brought in extra money tonight” Peridot pleaded

“I said I would consider it, I considered it and deemed it too expensive” He smirked at her as the other members of the freak show growled at him. “Have a nice night ladies” He added as he turned to walk out of the tent, the smirk still stretched across his face as Peridot teared up. 

Peridot started crying, the other freak show members trying to comfort her from their cages as she cried into her hands devastated. Her brother might die and he wouldn’t give her the medicine, she sobbed into her hands loudly, only managing to stutter out one sentence in protest.

“B-But it’s Christmas…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the Christmas Special  
> I hope you like it and please leave your thoughts down in the comments, it motivates me to keep writing  
> Have a Peri Christmas and a Lappy new year


	3. Sapphire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, there is implied rape at the beginning of the chapter

Limone sat in her cage silently, her sand-caked gold tail tucked between her legs as she stared at her bare, dirtied feet. Dull gold eyes staring down, hugging her knees to her chest tightly as she listened to Peridot and her brother talking behind her.

She was happy her best friend’s brother was ok. Jasper had given up her food for the next two days in exchange for giving Squaridot the medicine he needed. Peridot had thanked the mixed breed several times, but Jasper wouldn’t hear of it, she always looked out for everyone else, she had been there the longest.

She heard the others go silent, signaling the entrance of Mr. Danger. She flinched at the silence, not daring to look up from her feet to look at the horrible man who stole their freedom from them, and much more from her.

“Daddy, she looks like me” 

Limone’s eyes widened, looking up from her knees to see a small boy standing beside Mr. and Mrs. Danger. Molten gold eyes staring at her with childish innocence, fluffy wheat-colored dog ears and tail to match her own, she almost burst into tears.

“She does, doesn’t she?” Mr. Danger asked, placing his hands on the boy’s shoulders as he smirked at her smugly.

She wanted to cry, kill that man and take her child back, hug her son tightly as she cried into his blonde hair.

“She has pretty ears like you do Dan” 

Limone flinched at Mrs. Danger’s voice as the vile woman messed with her sons ears quietly, she hated the name they gave her child, she hated them.

She watched the three leave, bursting into tears the moment they left the tent. She could tell the others were looking at her, pity filling their eyes as they stared at her from their own cages sadly. 

She jumped at the feeling of something on her back, turning around quickly only to see Peridot and her brother looking at her, their ears flat against their heads and their tails down as they stared at her.

She looked back at her feet and buried her face in her knees once more.

Her son hadn't been her choice, forced to have him at the young age of twelve by that horrible man, but she still loved her son, even if he had no idea she was his mother.

The other creatures looked at each other through the cage bars, casting worried glances, silent conversations, but no one dared make a sound.

Pearl paced around the empty office, walking back and forth in front of Lapis, who leaned lazily against the tidy desk as she watched the pale woman pace, their faces twisted in thought.

Their attention snapped to the door, the handle turning as a tall woman entered the room. Fluffy, curly pink hair cutting off just above her shoulders and a layered white dress draping down to her ankles. Warm, brown eyes widened upon seeing the two occupants of the room.

“Pearl? Lapis?”

“Rose” Pearl spoke softly. They didn’t call Rose mom very often, though all three of them knew that’s what she was to them, their mother.  
Lapis stood from the table, walking towards the short, pink-haired woman, all signs of her easygoing personality gone from her eyes as she stared up into the confused brown eyes of her mother.

Rose’s gaze kept wandering between her two adopted daughters, brown eyes darkening in confusion of their serious behaviour. “What Happened?”

“We found Sapphire” Lapis said quietly.

Rose’s eyes widened, a soft gasp escaping her as she stared at her two children in disbelief. “Sapphire? Ruby’s Sapphire? You found her?”  
The two younger women nodded silently, their gazes moving to the floor as Rose looked between them once more. Their silence was terrifying, Sapphire had been missing for twelve years.

“Is she ok?”

The teens flinched slightly, Sapphire was miserable in the freak show, all of them were. 

“I need to call Ruby” Rose told them as she swiftly turned around and left the room to find her phone.

Pearl and Lapis looked at each other silently, everyone they knew had heard about Sapphire, Ruby’s missing wife who had been taken from her along with their child. Ruby carried a picture of Sapphire in her wallet, she would show it to her colleagues in hopes one day someone might see her. They had all promised to tell her if they heard anything.

Now they had.

 

Rose hurried through the house looking for her phone, rushing by her husband and their son who sat in the living room watching a cartoon together quietly. Stubbing her toe on the sofa and falling to the floor with a wince.

“Are you ok Rose?” Greg asked, standing up from the couch to check on her.

“I’m ok, where’s my phone? I need to call Ruby” her desperation was clear in her tone, making her husband tense up slightly.

“On the table with your keys, is everything ok?”

“I can’t say, I need to talk to Ruby” Rose stood quickly, grabbing her phone and dialing Ruby’s number quickly.

Rose grabbed her keys, bidding a quick goodbye to her husband and her son as she ran out the door to her car, dialing Ruby again. “Pick up, pick up, pick up! Please Ruby” She pleaded, repeatedly dialing the smaller woman’s number as she rushed to car quickly.

Rose was sure she was over the speed limit, but she needed to get to the office, she needed to speak to Ruby.

 

Ruby sat in her office, the quiet tapping of the computer keys filling the air while her sister and her cousins worked at their own desks. Six pairs of red eyes staring at their computers, working quickly to finish their weekly reports to their boss: Rosa Diamond. 

Known to the media as “Pink Diamond”, Rosa was a good boss, kind and compassionate, if not a little bit bratty. Being the youngest of the four sisters who owned Diamond Industries probably wasn’t easy.

The six women looked up at the sounds of commotion coming from outside their shared office door, watching the door curiously as they waited for news of what had been the source of the noise.

Ruby and her family members jumped in surprise when their office door slammed open, Rose Quartz rushing into the room, her signature white dress flowing behind her as she made her way to Ruby's desk quickly.

"Rose, what's wrong?" Ruby asked, concerned for her kind-hearted manager.

"Why weren't you answering your phone?" Rose asked, trying to catch her breath from running all the way up to Ruby's floor since the elevator was being fixed.

"I must have forgotten it at home again, I'm sorry" Ruby blushed in embarrassment. It was well known the 'Ruby squad' often forgot their phones at home in their rush to get to work each morning.

"I need to talk to you now" Rose said seriously, turning to the five other women in the room. "Clear the room"

The others left quickly, leaving Ruby alone with Rose in the silent office, all sounds gone.

Ruby looked up at Rose nervously, scared red eyes staring up at her manager as her small form shook slightly. 

"Am I fired?" 

Rose relaxed herself, she must have looked angry. Ruby asked that question alot when she was nervous around the higher-ups, she didn't mean to spook the smaller woman.

"No Ruby, you're not fired" 

Ruby let out a sigh of relief, her posture relaxing considerably, but the curiosity not leaving her.

"Then what is it?" Ruby asked

Rose took a deep breath, she didn't know what Lapis and Pearl had seen, but she needed to tell Ruby that they found Sapphire. She deserved to know.

"We found Sapphire"

Ruby felt like her heart had stopped, red eyes widening in disbelief. 

"S-Sapphire? You found her?" Ruby stuttered out, her heart rate picking up at the news. 

"Lapis and Pearl found her, they brought it to my attention this morning" 

"Where is she? Is she ok? Is Garnet with her?" Ruby asked, question after question, her mind racing with questions and worries.

"I don't know, they didn't tell me anything else, I needed to find you" Rose felt stupid for not asking her daughter's more questions when she had the chance.

"Can they take me to her?" Ruby asked, looking up at Rose with pleading eyes, begging her to say yes.

"Of course, come to my house tonight, they'll take us there"

Ruby knew what the 'us' meant Rose was going too, but she didn't mind, she just wanted to see her wife and child.

Rose left soon after, leaving Ruby alone in the office. Ruby looked at the framed picture on her desk, it was from the day Garnet was born. Sapphire smiling up at Ruby who was tearing up while she held her newborn daughter. 

Ruby sighed softly, Sapphire's sister Padparadscha had taken the picture, Sapphire's feathers we're ruffled from exhaustion, her hair messy from the birth. Ruby holding their daughter proudly, the little, featherless wings curled around her with a few strands of cotton candy pink and blue hair on her head. 

Ruby found herself tearing up again, Sapphire, Padparadscha and Garnet had been missing for twelve years, Ruby had been searching for them ever since with no luck, until now.

"Ruby? Why are are you crying?"

Ruby's head snapped up, she hadn't heard them come back in, she hadn't even realised she had been crying. She wiped away her tears quickly, a smile spreading across her face. "They found Sapphire"

The six women gasped, smiles spreading across their faces as they ran to Ruby, question upon question which Ruby couldn't even begin to answer. She felt like she was walking on air, excitement and happiness filling her body at the mere thought of seeing her beautiful wife and child again.

 

Sapphire sat in her cage, hugging Garnet to her chest tightly as she sang, her wings wrapped around her daughter. Her voice echoed around the tent, surrounding each creature, many of them smiling at her beautiful song, one good thing in their horrible lives.

~That’s when love turns night-time into day~

~That’s when loneliness goes away~

~That’s why you’ve got to be strong tonight~

Sapphire sang softly, her embrace tightening around her daughter in an attempt to stop her trembling. Padparadscha moved closer, adding her own voice to the song softly, just loud enough to be heard.

~Because only love can build us a bridge of light~

~Deep breath~

~Take it on the chin, don’t forget~

~To let love back in~

Her voice rose, singing loudly as her feathers fluffed up, Garnet looked up at her mother, her three heterochromatic eyes staring up at her mother in amazement as her trembling stopped.

~That’s how love can build a bridge of light! ~

~That’s what turns the wrongs all right! ~

~And that’s why you can’t give up the fight! ~

Sapphire sang loudly, her sister joining in with her own voice, the other creatures in the tent humming along to the song as Garnet started to sing along softly with her mother, her quiet voice making the other creatures ‘aw’ quietly.

~And that’s when love turns nighttime into day~

~That’s when loneliness goes away~

~And that’s why you’ve gotta be strong tonight~

~Because only love can build us a bridge of light~

~Only love can build us a brid-

“Aw how cute” 

All the creatures froze, the songbirds cage falling quiet, voices silenced by the appearance of Dane Danger. 

Garnet started trembling again, Sapphire hugged her daughter close, wrapping her wings around her as an extra precaution, none of them daring to look the man in the eyes.

"What's the matter? Why so silent?" Dane smirked, none of them looking up, their feet and the sand of their cages suddenly becoming the most interesting things in the world.

"Hey let me go!"

All of them looked up, eyes wide at Amethyst's voice, seeing her struggling against Dane as he dragged her out of her cage and onto the ground. Smirking at her as the others yelled from their cages for him to leave the purple haired woman alone.

Dane continued to smirk as he dragged Amethyst out of the tent, ignoring the shouts of protest from the other 'freaks'. Dragging her out into the middle of the woods as she struggled wildly, trying to bite him every chance she had. Dane either didn’t notice or didn’t care, because no matter what Amethyst did, he didn’t stop his stride.

He threw her to the ground in front of a tree, pinning her to the ground with his foot as he pulled out a bundle of rope, her eyes widening, her hands and feet changing into paws from her strong emotions.

He tied her to the tree tightly, making it impossible for her to escape, making the ropes so tight she was nervous if she moved too fast they would break her skin. He wrapped the rope around her head, tying her mouth shut in a makeshift muzzle, her ears pressing tightly to her head as she tried to struggle, to no avail. 

His smirk grew sadistic as he brandished his knife, her fur bristling even more from the absolute terror that filled her entire body.

He got close to her raking the knife down her leg, making sure not to go deep enough to kill her, he needed her alive. Muffled screams were released from the small woman, tears streaming down her face as he cut her leg open, her blood staining the grass beneath her.

He stood silently, the ever present smirk still on his face as he left her there, tied to the tree, with her leg bleeding heavily. Amethyst let out a muffled whimper, the makeshift muzzle made out of the rope preventing her from speaking at all.

She didn't know how long she was there, nor how long he was going to leave her there, if he wanted her dead he would have killed her already right?

She could hear howls in the distance, familiar barks of other hyenas, voices clear like a bell, she knew why he left her there.

She tried to scream, yell for them to stay away but all that came out we're muffled noises, the barks growing closer, growing more frantic since they could obviously smell her blood.

Amethyst knew who the barks belonged to, her sisters, the ones who took her in after her parents died during a famine, the family Dane kidnapped her from when she was just a little girl.

She knew why Dane had left her there with an injury, she was bait, bait for her sisters. They would easily recognise the scent of her blood, running towards the source desperately hoping to find their missing sister. 

She could hear them getting closer, her ears perking up at the sound of their voices, it wasn't just the barks anymore it was their voices. The strong, reassuring voice of Sharky, the gentle, comforting voice of Jay, the shy, loving voice of Chip. 

She missed her sisters so much, but she didn't want to be reunited with them like this, she couldn't help but tear up, knowing there wasn't anything she could do, her sisters were most likely going to be captured, forced into the freakshow just like she had been.

The rustle of the bushes drew her attention, it couldn't have been her sisters their voices were still too far away, she started struggling again, straining against the ropes, her energy gone from the injury.

Two identical faces appeared from behind the bush, tan skin with a redish tint to it, dark brown eyes and some sort of scale markings on their cheeks. Amethyst looked at them curiously, wondering if they were friend or foe. She hoped it was friend, she didn't know if her sisters could get there fast enough if they were foe.

"Are you ok?" The one on the left asked, their voice was quiet, a little louder then a whisper. Amethyst relaxed slightly, they seemed to be friendly.

They seemed to notice her injured leg, their dark brown eyes widening at the pool of blood gathering below her in the grass, staining it red.  
"You're hurt" the right one said, they moved closer to her, going around the bush allowing Amethyst to finally see what they were, a snake.  
Their red scales shimmered in the light, the pale orange and yellow scales on their underbelly shifting with each movement they made, they were connected at the hip, basically a two headed snake.

Amethyst was surprised, she had never met a snake creature before, especially not one with two human upper bodies. Each of them only had one arm, the arms closest to each other missing entirely, but Amethyst tried her best not to stare as they made their way over to her quietly, holding up their two hands quietly to assure her they meant no harm. Amethyst saw Dane behind them, a muffled screams of warning that they didn't understand before they were hit with a fast acting sleeping dart, Dane smirking as they fell to the ground.

"Good job, you make fine bait" he smirked at Amethyst, ordering one of the strongmen to take the new 'freak' to the tent.

Amethyst felt sick, she was being used to capture other creatures, they had been trying to help her only to be captured, and soon enslaved by that horrible man, and soon her sisters would share that same fate.

She couldn't help but start crying, watching them get dragged away, to be thrown into a cage where they will probably never get the chance to be free again.  
She could hear her sisters getting closer, her struggling started again, muffled screams and barks for them to flee. 

They appeared through the bushes, dashing over to their injured sister, but they never made it. Sleep darts sinking into their skin, making them pass out and fall to the grass in front of their crying sister.

Amethyst cried and struggled, trying desperately to reach her unconscious sisters as they were dragged away from her. Her ears fell, flattening against her head as she tucked her tail between her legs. Pitiful whimpers escaping her throat, still muffled by the ropes, her eyes growing wide as Dane walked back over to her, the smirk ever present on his face.

"You did well, I didn't expect to get so many freaks tonight"

Amethyst flinched at the words, she hated him more then she ever had before, she hated being used as bait for his twisted goals.

He bandaged up her leg, cheap bandages that only helped to scab over the wound, not even bothering to use medicine that could prevent dangerous infections. He dragged her back inside the tent, the others looked at her, frowns covering their faces, eyes widening upon seeing the large amount of bloody bandages on her leg.

She could see her sisters laying unconscious in the large cage that was usually reserved for supplies. Her own cage now empty of rocks and sand, supplies stuffed into the smaller cage to make room for the large group of hyenas.

Dane tossed her into the cage, she yelped in pain as she landed on her injured leg, falling amongst her sleeping sisters in the large cage, the ceiling stretching high above her head, much higher then the ceiling of her last cage.

He left after slamming the door shut, leaving the tent with a smirk everyone wanted to claw right off his face. Amethyst sat up, wincing at the pain of her injury before she looked around. The familiar faces of her sisters sleeping peacefully around her in the cage, unaware of the hell they were just thrown into.

Amethyst teared up, running her fingers through Jay’s short and fluffy hair, messing with the long curl that settled over her shoulder delicately. 

"Amethyst are you ok?"

Amethyst looked over at Jasper's cage, the worried mixed breed staring at her in concern, her tail down and amber eyes staring straight at her.

"I'm ok, I just feel so used... He captured my whole family...."

"So these are the sisters you told us about? I'm sure they'll just be happy to see you Amethyst" Sapphire said, still hugging Garnet to her chest as the curious child watched all the sleeping hyenas from the safe embrace of her mother.

"But I got them caught" Amethyst replied, her ears flat against her head as she ran her clawed fangers through her sisters hair gently.  
"It's not your fault Amethyst. He used you as bait, there was nothing you could have done" Jasper reassured quietly

Amethyst looked around at her friends silently, she was thankful for their reassuring words. 

Her eyes landed on Rhodonite cage, the otter was pressed up against the corner of her cage, her ears down and her eyes wide in panic. Staring down at the unconscious conjoined snake in the cage with her. "Rhodonite are you ok?" 

"Y-Yep, just d-dandy, no I'm not" Rhodonite stuttered, pressing herself into the corner of the cage as much as she possibly could.

"They're ok Rhodonite, I promise, they tried to help me" Amethyst explained, trying to calm the scared woman.

"You aren't to blame for their capture either Amethyst" Jasper said

"Didn't know you could read minds Jasper" Amethyst tried to joke, wincing at how pathetic she sounded.

Soft groans stopped Jasper from any further conversation, the other freakshow members watching the group of hyenas silently from their cages as they started to rouse from their slumber.

One by one they woke up, rubbing their heads in an attempt to stave off the last effects of the sleeping drugs.

Jay looked around, her eyes landing on Amethyst's smaller frame, her orchid colored eyes widening at the sight of her youngest sister. She let out a howl of delight as she scooped Amethyst into her arms, her eyes shining with absolute joy.

"AMETHYST!" She exclaimed

The other hyenas gathered around, a group hug forming quickly as they all asked question after question to the small hyena, their excitement unending from finally being reunited with their baby sister.

Amethyst resigned herself to the fate, letting her sisters play with her hair and ears happily as they chatted away with her, trying to cram ten years of family time into a few minutes.

"Ain't you all just a perfect family"

Their chatter died in their throats, Amethyst's ears flattening against her head, alerting her sisters that something was wrong with the owner of the voice.

They looked to the source of the comment, a smirking man standing in front of their cage, charcoal eyes glistening with smug amusement, aburn hair framing his face as he smirked at them, sending chills up their spines. 

Something was definitely wrong with that man.

 

Ruby sat in the car silently, her hands playing with her wedding ring as she stared out the window. The others in the car chatted quietly, their voices fuzzy and distant to her as she had tuned out their conversations long ago.

“Ruby”

Ruby zoned back in at the sound of Rose’s voice saying her name, lapis waving her hand in Ruby’s face, all of them looking at her in concern.

“Are you ok Ruby?” Pearl asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine” Ruby stuttered 

She didn’t know if she was fine, she could barely focus, she couldn’t even speak without stuttering. She wanted to get out of the car, she wanted to see what Lapis and Pearl had been talking about, she wanted to see Sapphire.

“We’re here” Rose informed, stepping out of the car with them into the windy night

Ruby got out quickly, Lapis and Pearl following close behind. She looked up at the tent, running towards the entrance as fast as her legs would carry her, desperate to see Sapphire again.

Ruby ran into the tent, Lapis breaking away from the group to hurry over to a pair of fox creatures in a cage, a smile gracing her face as she begun to talk with the female fox in the cage.

“SAPPHIRE!?” Ruby yelled, looking around from cage to cage in search of her beloved. “SAPPHIRE!?” she yelled again, some guests looking at her in confusion as she continued her desperate search.

“RUBY!”

Ruby looked for the source of the sweet voice, her eyes landing on a cage housing familiar faces. “SAPPHIRE!” she yelled, running to the cage at full speed.

Ruby reached the cage, grabbing the bars as she stared up at the blue haired woman before her. “S-Sapphire” she stuttered, reaching out her hand through the bars.

“Ruby” Sapphire smiled, brushing her pale blue bangs aside to look Ruby in the eyes with her own brilliant blue ones. 

Ruby laid one hand on Sapphire’s small hands, the other on her cheek, feeling Sapphire’s smooth skin beneath her fingers as tears sprung to her eyes. A small head of cotton candy colored hair came into view, three heterochromatic eyes looking at her curiously from behind Sapphire.

“Mom? Is that mama?”

Ruby drew in a shaky breath, she knew who it was. It was Garnet, her and Sapphires baby girl, their child. 

“Yes sweetie, it’s your mama” Sapphire smiled, bringing Garnet closer as Ruby moved her hand from Sapphire’s hand to Garnets cheek. 

Ruby couldn’t hold it back anymore, she burst into tears, crumpling to her knees in front of the cage. Her cries echoing throughout the tent, undoubtedly drawing the stares of the other guests. 

Tears streamed down her face, crying as she held the hands of her wife and child. Their soft skin pressing against her hands, looking down at her with their beautiful eyes. She couldn’t stop her tears, she had been searching for them for twelve years and she had finally found them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sapphire was singing the song "Bridge of Light" I used a clip from the movie Happy Feet 2 for the lyrics  
> please leave a comment of your thoughts  
> and if you have any questions here is my tumblr ask blog for this story https://welcome-to-the-freakshow-au.tumblr.com/


	4. Free

**Amethyst awoke in a comfortable bed, soft blankets surrounding her, her head rested against a plush pillow. She sat up in quickly, her mind muddled from sleep as she looked around the nicely decorated room.**

**The room was clean, a tidy desk tucked in the corner with a big shelf full of books, they seemed to mostly be space books though.**

**Sunlight was shining through the windows, illuminating the room nicely, giving her a warm, comfortable feeling.**

**She could smell some sort of food cooking outside of the room, the smell alone made her mouth water in anticipation. Her tail started wagging, moving the blankets slightly with the movement.**

**The blankets fell off her shoulders making her blush at a realisation. She was naked, so very naked. She yelped as she grabbed for a blanket in a panic, pulling a soft, purple throw blanket up to cover her chest, her whole face bright red as she looked around for any sign of her clothing.**

**Finding nothing she decided to venture out of the room, wrapping the blanket tightly around herself, clutching it in front of her chest as she made her way out of the room to follow the heavenly smell.**

**She wandered through the house, holding the blanket to her chest as it draped down to her ankles, dragging behind her lazily as she walked.**

**The house was clean, furniture placed nicely around the room, books neatly placed on bookshelves, beautiful bookends that almost looked like spears holding up the books.**

**Amethyst followed the smell, walking through the living room, past all the couches as she walked to the kitchen. Where a soft humming noise was now audible from.**

**The smell was intoxicating, swirling around her and making her start drooling at the amazing smell as she walked towards the thin woman cooking at the stove.**

**“Pearl! Why didn’t you wake me!?”**

Amethyst sat up quickly, eyes wide as a blush bloomed across her face, her thoughts foggy from sleep. 

The others were awake, talking quietly from their cages as morning sunlight peeked through the tent entrance slightly.

“Mornin’ sleepy head,” Sharky smiled, ruffling Amethyst’s hair roughly from where she lay in between Jay and Chip. “What were you dreaming about? You’re blushing like crazy.”

“Probably ‘bout that Pearl chick,” Jay mumbled, snuggling her face further into Sharky’s hair, inhaling the scent of the strongest of the three girlfriends.

Barely any of them were biologically related, they all just banded together into a clan after a dangerous famine wiped out the adult hyena’s in the canyon they had all called home. The oldest of them, Sharky and Jay, had gathered all the kids together to take care of them.

Jay and Sharky always told Amethyst of the day they found her, several days after the last of the adults had been buried. They had heard her crying from her parents den at the far side of the canyon, the entrance was well hidden near the ground, instead of higher on the wall like the others.

They had found her, only about a week old, crying for milk. With the help of a cow nearby they had managed to feed her. Then they had adopted her into their rag-tag clan of kids, with the three mates, Jay, Sharky and Chip being the leaders.

Amethyst was always thankful for them, they had saved her life, raised her since she was a pup, they had accepted her as one of their clan. She loved them like the family they were to her.

“How’d you know?” She asked, her ears twitching slightly atop her head as Jay and Sharky perked up. They sat up quickly, waking Chip beside them who whined softly.

“What’s going on?” Ellie asked, looking over from the corner of the cage where her and a few other of the rag-tag family had been talking with Peridot and her brother.

“Ame is in love!” Sharky teased, drawing out the word love as her tail wagged fast.

Amethyst found herself blushing more, her own tail wagging at the thought of the sweet dream she had just woken from. 

“Aw, Amethyst that’s so cute!” Chip smiled as she hugged the smaller woman happily, their tails wagging out of sync with each others.

“Was it a dirty dream?” Sharky teased.

“NO!” Amethyst exclaimed. “W-Well at least i don’t think so.”

“Oh?” Jay asked.

“How so?” Kay asked, heading over on all fours, everyone’s ears perked towards Amethyst curiously.

“She was making me breakfast.” Amethyst said, her blush still present on her cheeks as her sisters leaned in closer.

“Was she naked?” Sharky asked.

“N-No, but I kinda was…” Amethyst trailed off, her blush growing.

“Ohhhh,” They all smirked at her.

“Do you all mind?” Aquamarine piped up, her wings fluttering in annoyance from her spot in her cage. “There are children in here.”

“Sorry A,” Amethyst apologised, her sisters mumbling their own apologies as they went back to what she assumed they had been doing before she woke up.

 

Amethyst kept thinking about her dream, it had felt so real.

 

For a moment, she had actually believed she was free…

 

~Diamond Tower, Empire city, 4:15pm~

 

Rose Quartz walked quickly, trying to keep up with the two taller women as they hurried towards the meeting room. They were very tall, Rose would guess almost seven feet, and they could walk very fast. 

 

Azura and Yella Diamond walked side by side in determined strides, the small wing like appendages on the sides of Azura’s head moving up and down slightly, revealing her aggravation through her stoic facade. 

Yella threw the doors open, storming into the the meeting room with her twin and Rose right behind her. 

Blanche and Rosa looked up as the three women walked into the room, standing near the table silently as the three women entered the room.

“What is this about?” Blanche asked, her colorless irises focusing on her younger sisters as they wanted to the table with Rose.

“Rose has brought it to our attention that there's a freakshow holding creatures prisoner for money,” Yella explained, a growl in her voice.

Blanche and Rosa’s eyes widened, looking at each other in alarm. Diamond industries was a major business on the front lines of creatures rights, especially because Azura and Rosa were creatures themselves.

Azura’s wing-like appendages on the sides of her head flared in anger, fluffing up like white puff balls. “And that's not all.”

“There's more?” Blanche asked.

“Sapphire is in there.” Rose added.

“Sapphire?” Rosa asked. “Ruby’s Sapphire, our Ruby’s Sapphire?”

Rose nodded, looking at her shorter boss as the smaller creature woman seethed in anger. 

“And what exactly goes on in this ‘freakshow’?” Blanche asked, her voice cold with anger hiding just below the surface.

Rose waited for them to take their seats, connecting her phone to the projector in the room, so she could show them the photos she had taken of the conditions those poor creatures were living in. 

It was going to be a long afternoon. 

~~Quartz residence, 1:32 AM~~

Pearl looked out the window, staring up at the moon as the room fell silent. Her arms fell to her sides, ruffling the simple practice skirt gently. “It’s getting late.”

Lapis sat on the piano bench quietly, wearing her favourite blue sweatpants and her green hoodie. She liked green and blue, looked good together, perfect in fact. 

She had been playing the piano for Pearl, helping the nervous woman practice her ballet routine for the show next week. Pearl had been very grateful for the help, but it was getting late and Rose still wasn’t home, she had never been that late before. “I’m sure she’s fine Pearl, she’s a grown woman.”

“She’s never been this late before Lapis!” Pearl squawked at her adopted sister, staring out the window to the driveway waiting for Rose’s car to pull in. 

To her relief the white Lexus brand car pulled into the driveway as the two sisters dashed from the room, leaving the dancing studio in disarray.

Rose walked in the door, letting out a sigh of relief at the thought of her comfortable bed waiting for her upstairs. Greg’s snores could be heard softly coming from the bedroom with the pitter patter of feet coming from the studio.

“Rose!” Pearl squealed, hugging her adoptive mother happily as Lapis leaned against the wall with a small smile on her face. 

“Hello you two, I didn’t mean to be gone so late, the meeting ran a lot longer than anyone predicted.” Rose explained, setting her keys and phone down on the table by the door, hanging her purse on the coat rack gently. 

“So what are they going to do?” Lapis asked, not moving from her spot against the wall. 

“As always, Diamond industries is a front runner in creature rights, Yella called Zareen in, they’re going to take the freakshow down.” Rose explained.

The girls smiled, Zareen was Yella’s daughter, and one of the best lawyers in the country. Diamond industries was well known for being on the front lines of creature rights, and Zareen knew the laws like the back of her hand.

They would all soon be free, out to live their lives. 

Pearl couldn’t help but think of Amethyst, she longed to show the hyena woman all the sights of the city, to let her experience true freedom. There was so much to show her, Pearl wanted her to see it all.

Lapis’ eyes lit up, visions of her and Peridot walking through the streets with hot cocoa in their hands as they enjoyed the first snow of the winter. Petting Peridot’s soft ears as they cuddled together in front of the fire, watching movies and eating popcorn together, a small orange dog by their feet, its tail wagging happily. 

Peridot was going to be free soon.

They all were.


	5. Burn

**Peridot ran quickly, her tail flowing behind her like a flag on a windy day as she ran through the flower filled meadow. Her baby blue eyes wide, taking in every detail of the sun covered field. She could hear footsteps behind her, chasing her down. She looked over her shoulder, a wide smile stretching across her face as she ran faster.**

**Her ears were filled with the sounds of nature, birds chirping, the wind blowing through the grass, the waters of the streams, the chatter of other people in different parts of the park, even the distant sounds of cars on the roads outside the tranquil area. It was calming, peaceful.**

**She yelped at the sudden feeling of arms around her waist, her pursuer colliding into her as they both fell into the tall grass and flowers of the meadow, giggles escaping them.**

**“Gotcha,” Lapis giggled, hugging Peridot tightly as she kissed the giggling fox woman on the cheek.**

**“Seems you did,” Peridot smiled. “Looks like its breakfast for dinner tonight.”**

**Lapis grinned, peppering Peridot’s face in kisses as she squealed in delight. She stood up, pulling Peridot up with her as they recovered from their giggling fits.**

**They walked out of the park, chatting quietly as they walked past other couples and out onto the streets of the city, leaving the lush greenery of the park behind them.**

**Peridot’s tail wagged gently behind her as they walked hand in hand through the busy streets. Her eyes wandered the shops as they walked, looking in the windows of small boutiques, admiring the clothing as they passed by.**

**“Hey Peri want to stop and get a milkshake?” Lapis asked, drawing the creatures attention away from the small stores and to the candy shop Lapis was pointing at across the street.**

**“Sure!” She chirped, her tail wagging faster as Lapis lead her across the street and into the air conditioned shop.**

**The bell rung softly when the door opened, signalling their entrance. The shop wasn’t too busy, only a few people in line.**

**Peridot looked around, enjoying the soft pastel colors of the shop before her eyes settled on the candy selection behind the counter, looking at all the different candies they sold.**

**“What do you think Peri? Vanilla milkshake?” Lapis asked as they moved up in line, stepping closer to the pastel pink counter.**

**“Yeah.”**

**They left the shop after getting their sweet treat, smiles on their faces as they made their way back to the Quartz residence, drinking their milkshake together as they enjoyed the sunshine of the summer afternoon.**

**They passed other couples, some giving them dirty looks which made Peridot’s ears lower but made Lapis glare at them with a burning hatred. Other couples smiled at them, some waved at them, even though they had never met before.**

**They turned off the street onto the long stone driveway of the Quartz residence. Still hand in hand as Lapis unlocked the door and they stepped inside the cool, air conditioned mansion.**

**Lapis threw out the empty cup, leading Peridot up the stairs, still holding hands and smiling happily. Giggling as they made their way to their room.**

**Peridot broke away from Lapis, dropping her hand as she ran into their room, jumping onto their bed and bouncing happily on it before falling amongst the soft blankets, her tail wagging fast.**

**Lapis jumped onto the bed after her, careful not to hurt her girlfriend as she landed on her stomach next to the fox woman. Draping an arm delicately over Peridot’s soft tummy as she looked into the baby blue eyes of her lover.**

**“I love you Peri.”**

**“I love you too Lapis.”**

 

Peridot sat up quickly, the realm of sleep still trying to cling to her as a blush formed across her face. Her ears pressed to her head, a soft smile spreading across her face along with a blush as her tail started wagging fast.

Squaridot groaned beside her, stirring from sleep because of the constant movement of Peridot’s tail hitting him softly over and over again.

“Peridot what are you doing?” he asked, yawning softly as he gave up on sleep and sat up.

“You two finally woke up,” Jasper stated, looking at them from her cage with warm amber eyes.

Peridot noticed the shift in noise, were the others being quiet because her and Squaridot were sleeping? She looked around, noticing everyone else was awake, so yeah, they were being quiet for them, it was kind of comforting to her that they cared enough to stay quiet so her and her brother could sleep, they were good friends.

“Hey Peri, what were you dreaming about?” 

Peridot turned towards the hyena cage, her ears perking up at the sight of Amethyst sitting against the bars with a few of her sisters. She smiled at Amethyst and went over to the bars. 

“Was it about that Lapis girl you and Amethyst keep talking about?” Sharky asked. 

“Y-Yeah,” She stuttered out, the blush intensifying as the hyena women smirked at her.

“Was it dirty?” Rosie asked, her tail wagging in anticipation. 

“NO!” Peridot’s face turned redder.

“What happened P-dot! Tell us!” Amethyst grinned.

“We were running through a field, there was flowers everywhere,” Peridot started. “She was chasing me, and she tackled me, we were giggling in the grass.”

She noticed the smug smirks of the women in front of her, her blush grew as their tails wagged.

“We went for milkshakes after that, we shared a vanilla milkshake as we walked to this big mansion!” 

They looked amazed, listening to her as if she was telling them she slayed a dragon.

“We went into the mansion, and she left me upstairs-”

“So it was dirty.” Amethyst interrupted, Peridot glared at the smirking woman 

“NO!” She screamed, blushing as they started laughing. “IT’S NOT FUNNY!”

“Sorry Peridot, what happened next?” Jay asked, shushing her sisters and her two mates.

“We jumped onto her bed giggling, then…” Peridot trailed off, her cheeks turning a bright red as they leaned towards her. 

“Then?” They asked in unison.

“She said she loved me,” Peridot blushed.

“Did you say it back?” Chip asked, her soft voice filling Peridot's ears.

“Yeah, then I woke up.”

“Aw Peridot! You had a Lapis dream! Just like I did with Pearl!” Amethyst squealed, grinning at the blushing woman.

The tent fell silent, save for the growls of the Hyena’s, no clue there creature dared growl at him. Peridot looked at the entrance and sure enough, there he was. Dane Danger stood at the entrance, the ever present smirk on his face as he walked towards the Hyena’s cage, where the growling was coming from.

“Oh aren't you scary,” he teased. “It seems you freaks don't know your place, allow me to teach you.”

They snarled at him, their fur bristling, fangs bared, and their eyes hardened like steel, glaring at him hatefully. 

“Agate, get me the little one.”

Holly Blue walked forward, her fluffy ears flattened against her head, her tail tucked in between her legs and a whip held tightly in her shaking hands. 

The Hyena’s growled, snarling at her as they moved to protect Amethyst. Their fur and hair fluffing up to look much bigger, angered eyes narrowed at the nervous snow leopard woman.

“Are you deaf? Get me the little one!” Dane yelled at Holly. “Or you'll be in the smallest cage I have.”

Holly’s eyes widened, she cracked her whip quickly, getting it around Amethyst’s neck and yanking her out of the cage as Dane shut the door with the angry Hyena's inside.

“I’m sorry Amethyst,” she whispered, looking away from Amethyst, tears stinging her eyes. She hated hurting her friends, but if she didn’t she was going to be locked up, which would result in a panic attack from her crippling claustrophobia. 

The others constantly told her that they didn’t blame her for what she was being threatened into, but it still made her scared and upset. She hated hurting her friends, especially Amethyst, she was just so little...

Amethyst coughed slightly, the whip fell from around her neck allowing her to breathe once more. If only for a moment. Dane grabbed her tightly by the neck, his smirk widening, all the creatures now screaming their protests.

He walked over to the furnace which usually brought heat, but now it brought crippling fear. They all screamed their protests, several pleading to take Amethyst’s place despite not knowing what he had in mind. 

He smirked at the group of hyenas, grabbing a long handle out of the furnace, bringing out a branding rod, a gemstone pattern on the end, red hot from the fire of the furnace. 

“STOP! TAKE ME INSTEAD!” Sharky screamed, clinging to the cage bars, pleading with Mr Danger.

He smirked at them, his eyes shining evilly. “Then how would you learn?” he asked, putting the rod back in the furnace.

He threw Amethyst to the ground, kicking her stomach hard, knocking the wind out of her easily. The little woman struggling to get up, only to have his foot hit her soft tummy hard, sending her back onto the ground, his foot pinning her to the ground by her stomach. 

The other creatures screamed for him to stop, Sharky begging to switch places with her baby sister. He just smirked. 

He took a knife out of his pocket, cutting Amethyst's shirt off, her eyes widening as she struggled beneath his foot. His smirk grew wider, tossing the knife away as he picked up the branding rod once more.

He thrust it towards Amethyst, the hot, gemstone pattern of the branding rod searing into her chest. A shrill scream escaped her throat, the horrid stench of burning flesh filling their noses. 

Many of them looked away, unable to watch the torture, others threw up, the stench and the horrid sight making them lose what little food they had been given that day.

After a while he pulled it away, shoving it back into the furnace quickly. Amethyst had fallen silent, worried eyes trained on her, praying she would move, whimper, anything.

But she didn't move.


	6. Amethyst

He grabbed Amethyst’s hair roughly, pulling her off the ground, showing her to the creatures. Her eyes were half lidded, glazed over, dark purple not the stunning indigo they grew to love.

He opened the door of the cage which held the hyena family, tossing the small woman in carelessly before closing the door once more. “I hope you’ve learned your lesson.” he smirked, walking out of the tent with that shit eating grin on his face. 

Sharky caught Amethyst, tears streaming down her face, they gathered around the injured woman. Their ears pressed tightly to their heads, tears falling uncontrollably, and their tails tucked in between their legs. 

“A-Amethyst?” Jay stuttered, reaching to cup Amethyst’s face gently, her hands shaking. “A-Ame?” 

“I-Is she ok?” the timid voice of Holly came from behind them. 

They turned, glaring hatefully at the shaking snow leopard as her ears flattened and her tail went in between her legs. Their glares didn’t let up, their fur bristling as some of them began growling at her. 

“Haven’t you done enough?” Kay growled.

“Lay off!” Jasper shouted. 

The family of hyenas looked up, their ears perking up slightly, staring at the mixed breed woman in confusion. 

“Holly didn’t hurt Amethyst,” Jasper added.

“But she-” Rain started.

“Holly has claustrophobia, all leopard creatures have it, it’s basically genetic, he makes her do things by threatening to put her in a cage, she hates doing things like that, you really think she wanted to hurt Amethyst?” Jasper reasoned.

They looked down, staring at Amethyst worriedly, she still hadn't moved, not even a whimper.

“Don't yell at them Jasper, they're hurt, that's their baby sister who he tortured,” Sapphire defended, hugging Garnet to her chest, her fluffy wings wrapped around her child protectively.

“Is she ok?” Garnet’s soft voice asked her mother, looking up at her mom with her three heterochromatic eyes filled with worry. 

“We don't know sweetheart.”

~~Canbro Park, 7:46pm~~

Pearl got out of the car, Lapis, Ruby, Bismuth and Zareen close behind her. She shivered against the cold, pulling her coat tighter around her as they made their way into the tent. 

Something was wrong. The creatures were silent, they had never been so still any time they’d seen them. Pearl looked around for Amethyst, not seeing the small woman in her cage as normal, it was full of supplies, no rocks, no sand, no fake foliage, and no Amethyst. 

“Hey Pearl, is it just me or is there more hyenas then the last time we were here?” Bismuth asked, pointing over to a large cage, several big women sat in a huddle in a big cage, growling at anyone who came near.

“Definitely more,” Pearl agreed, walking over to the large cage while Bismuth wandered off to find Jasper.

The women growled at her as she approached, their fur and hair bristling, lips parted showing off sharp fangs. Narrowed eyes, all shades of purple and pink glaring at her, their growls rising in volume the closer she got.

“Is Amethyst with you?” She asked, her voice shaking slightly, her heart was racing, they seemed angry, she didn't want to do anything to upset them more.

“P-Pearl?” 

Pearl’s eyes widened, that was Amethyst’s voice, why did she sound so weak? What happened? She watched them part ways, revealing a large woman, soft orchid eyes, and short, fluffy hair with one single curl. She held Amethyst gently in her arms.

Pearl almost threw up at the sight, Amethyst looked dead, her eyes hazy, her skin pale, her spots more prominent because of it. That wasn't even the worst thing. 

There, in the middle of Amethyst’s chest, was the most horrific sight she'd ever seen in her life. There was a horrible burn, her flesh was red and angry, if not completely black. There was blood surrounding the wound, even some still leaking from it along with some strange liquid Pearl didn't even want to think about.

“Amethyst!” She exclaimed shooting across the last two feet of grass to get to the cage, clinging to the bars, wanting to scoop her up into her arms and take away her pain.

The other women seemed surprised by her reaction, as if they hadn't expected her horrified response to Amethyst’s injury, but they got over it and quickly returned to growling at something behind her. 

She turned around, Zareen stood behind her, eyes wide at the growling women in the cage, her hands raised slightly in surrender, one hand clutching her camera tightly. 

“Zareen,” Pearl turned to the blonde. 

“I was just coming over to photograph the conditions, I don't think they want me any closer,” Zareen responded.

Pearl looked back at the growling women, they didn't seem to trust them. They had every reason not to. 

“Is it ok if she comes closer?” She asked them quietly, her eyes trailing to Amethyst. Zareen needed to get a picture of that wound, it would take them miles in court. 

“Why?” One of them asked, her eyes narrowed, lips parted showing her sharp teeth.

“I’m a lawyer,” Zareen introduced. “I’ve been asked to take photographs of the conditions here to build a case against the owner, to get this place shut down for good.” 

They looked to each other, Pearl and Zareen could have sworn they were having some sort of silent conversation. The flicker of eyes, subtle nods or shakes of the heads, flicking ears and moving tails, even the twitch of a nose meant something.

They looked back to the two humans, one of the hyenas reaching her hand between the bars, her claw-like nails glinting dangerously in the light. 

“Give me the camera,” she told them.

Zareen handed the camera over reluctantly, it was the only record of the evidence she had collected since walking into that tent, she had quite a bit of dirt already. 

They watched as the hyenas examined the camera, looking through the pictures on it before one of them started taking pictures of Amethyst's injury, getting it from the best possible angles to show off how gruesome the wound truly was. 

They handed the camera back after a while, still only letting Pearl close to the cage, the one hyena had moved closer to the bars, allowing Pearl to grasp Amethyst's hand gently, squeezing it slightly to let the injured woman know she was there.

Zareen took the camera back, murmuring a quiet thank you as she looked at the pictures of the injury. “It has a pattern. Did he use a branding rod?” She asked, looking up at the group.

A few of them nodded, one of them pointing over to a furnace, where a long bar was sticking out ominously. Zareen nodded, walking towards the furnace to get a picture of what had caused the horrible wound.

Pearl looked back at Amethyst, tearing up as she squeezed her hand once more, staring into the hazy eyes, hoping for more of a reaction, but it didn’t come, Amethyst remained still. 

~~Canbro Park, 12:08 AM~~

Pearl reluctantly left the tent, leaving Amethyst behind with her family. Pearl had spent the night getting to know them, they were very protective of Amethyst, but it seemed they weren’t being themselves. They had told her what the owner of the freakshow had done, that it was supposed to be some sort of twisted lesson, it was sick.

She got into the car, looking down at her hands, the sight of Amethyst lying so still was haunting her, the injury seared into her mind. 

“How was Amethyst doing?” Ruby broke the silence, looking up at pearl. “Sapphire said she’s hurt bad.”

“Jasper was saying it too,” Bismuth added.

“And Peridot, she seemed really shaken by it,” Lapis explained.

“Well i have good news ladies.”

The four women looked over at Zareen, the smug lawyer holding the bag with the camera in it marked as evidence. Her molten gold eyes sparkling dangerously, a smirk stretched across her face.

“What is it?” Pearl asked, the others nodding, wanting to know the supposed ‘good news’ Zareen was talking about.

“I gathered more than enough evidence tonight, I’ve gathered enough for the freakshow to be shut down for a full investigation, and that’s before a trial date is even set,” Zareen explained, her smirk growing.

“What does that mean?” Lapis inquired.

They all nodded, it was like she was speaking German. Lawyer speak was complicated.

“It means everyone would be removed, taken into custody to give their testimonies, they would be out of those cages,” Zareen explained.

Their eyes widened, smiles blossoming across their faces. Their bodies felt warm, happy, all the creatures would be out soon, safe and sound away from that evil beast.

“that isn't even the best part,” Zareen told them, their faces contorting in confusion.

“What do you mean?” Pearl asked.

“With the evidence I've collected tonight, combined with their testimonies against him…” she trailed off, watching them, waiting for them to connect the dots.

“What?” Pearl asked.

Zareen slapped her hand to her forehead, was she speaking some other language? Was it that hard to guess what was going to happen? It wasn't rocket science, it was law and common sense.

“Zareen just tell us! Stop being cryptic!” Lapis snapped, piercing navy eyes glaring at the blonde lawyer.

“We’re going to take that fucker down.”


	7. Honey

**Malachite walked quietly, following behind Alexandrite as the teal haired woman walked up the grassy hill a few feet ahead of her.**

**“Where are we going?” Malachite asked.**

**“When we get home look up the definition of surprise,” Alexandrite replied.**

**“I hate surprises Alex.”**

**“But it's your birthday, so too bad you're getting a surprise if you like it or not,” she stated.**

**Malachite sighed, following the woman the rest of the way up the hill which overlooked the sea which Malachite adored so much.**

**A blanket lay spread out over the grass, candles spread around it emitting a warm glow. Food and drinks were spread out over the blanket as the sun set over the sea the hill overlooked.**

**She was speechless. “A-Alex…” she didn't know what to say, it was beautiful, so thoughtful.**

**“You like it?” Alexandrite asked.**

**“It's romantic and completely sickening at the same time,” Malachite turned around, she wasn't usually one for mushy gushy stuff, but Alex was special.**

**Alexandrite snickered, Malachite loved the surprise, she just had a strange way of showing it, but Alexandrite knew she loved it. “Let's eat ok? We have a long night ahead of us”**

**“We do?” Malachite asked, just receiving a nod in response.**

**She sat with Alexandrite, taking the cup from her hand hesitantly. “What is it?”**

**“Chili pepper vodka” Alex replied.**

**Malachite was confused for a moment, she had heard of all sorts of flavoured drinks but she had never heard of chili pepper flavoured alcohol before.**

**She took a gulp of the drink, her lips tingling, the spicy taste making her whole mouth tingle as well, the alcohol burning the back of her throat as she swallowed it down. The tingling didn't go away, but it felt good, and the drink had a salty aftertaste that she didn't mind one bit.**

**“It's got a kick to it,” she smiled at the teal haired girl, who just smiled back.**

**Malachites smile dropped slightly, Alex was still wearing her sunglasses, she always wore those things and Malachite hated it. “Are you going to take those off tonight?”**

**“Maybe, if you're lucky,” Alexandrite smirked slightly as Malachite found her face heating up with a blush.**

**Alexandrite extended her hand which held her cup, Malachite clinking the glasses against each other before taking another gulp of the strong drink.**

**“Happy birthday Malachite.”**

**“Yeah yeah, happy birthday to me, I get it.”**

Malachite woke up in confusion, looking around at the curious faces of the other creatures as she sat up. She saw a woman kneeling in the middle of the tent, growling dangerously as she struggled in the ropes she was tied in. 

Dane was standing before her, a whip neatly wrapped in his hand. “I've given you your choice leopard.” He growled out, she glared up at him but nodded.

He had probably blackmailed her with the small cage like he did with Holly, she did say that leopards were prone to claustrophobia. 

He cut the woman free and tossed the whip at her feet, “Try to escape and you'll see just how mean I can be.” He warned.

Malachite watched, glaring at the man herself as he left the tent, they all looked at the blonde woman on the ground as she picked up the whip and stood up. Her hair was in a bun, black leopard ears with soft white fur on the insides lay against her head, her tail flicking as she looked around at all the worried creatures in their cages.

“Are you ok?” Jasper asked, Malachite followed Jasper’s eyes to an injury on the woman’s leg, looked like she got caught in one of Dane’s traps and it caught her leg. 

“I’m fine.”

Holly went near the woman, her ears down in their usual timid position and her tail tucked between her legs. “W-What is your name?” she stuttered out.

The woman looked at her, her pupils narrowing into slits before she snarled at Holly, the snow leopard screaming in fear and running towards the hyena cage. The woman chased after her, her golden leopard tail waving behind her as she chased Holly. 

Sharky, Jay and Chip sat at the bars of their cage, their fur standing on end as they snarled at her, their fangs bared, growling at the woman. Holly clung to the cage bars, Chip trying to calm her down as Sharky and Jay kept the woman at bay with their growls.

Malachite didn’t know when the three mates had grown so close to holly, but their whole clan of adopted siblings were now growling at the golden haired woman, ears flat, tails lashing, and teeth bared in snarls and growls.

She backed off, glaring at Holly with hatred, her pupils still narrow slits. Her teeth still bared in her growl but keeping her distance from the clan of angry hyenas. 

“What’s your deal!?” Jasper snapped, her own ears flat, eyes narrowed at the angry newcomer that turned to face the mixed breed. “She’s a leopard just like you!”

“Other leopard’s are the reason I’m in this hell to begin with!” she screamed, growling angrily.

“What?” Jasper’s eyes widened in surprise, her ears perking.

“I was living with other leopards, when I got caught in that trap they left me, leaving me as bait so they could get away,” she growled, “and I was dragged to this hell.”

 

“I’m sure we all agree with you on that one,” Aquamarine added.

“What’s your name?” Sapphire repeated Holly’s question calmly, Garnet trembling in her arms.

The blonde looked at Sapphire, her eyes softening when they landed on Garnet, her pupils going back to normal. “Honey Agate…” she answered. “I’m sorry I scared your cub…”

“It’s alright,” Sapphire assured her, her wings were fluffed up from all the commotion but she moved past things pretty quickly.

Noone made fun of her for calling Garnet a cub, each species had their own way of saying child, Malachite herself referred to children as cubs, it was just how they talked. 

Malachite remembered when Padparadscha, Sapphire and Garnet had been brought in, Jasper had asked her if her pup was ok, Sapphire had seemed confused, later they found out she had been living with a flock of other bird creatures her entire life, she had never met another creature. 

Garnet and Connie were the babies of the show, but while Garnet had her mom and her auntie Padparadscha, Connie’s parents had been killed, leaving just her older cousin to take care of her. Stevonnie tried their best, but with Kevin constantly holding Connie over their head it was hard to manage.

Honey looked around, giving a soft growl to Holly before she went over to a barrel near Aquamarine’s cage and sat down, her tail curling neatly in her lap. 

They ignored her for the rest of the day, going about their own conversations, going silent when Dane came in, which always seemed to puzzle her until Aquamarine filled her in on what happened to Amethyst, making the woman wince sympathetically, she looked over at the hyenas who were talking amongst themselves, Amethyst was up and about but her injury was getting infected, with no way to treat it properly.

Malachite had heard Jasper trying to bargain with Dane, trying to trade a few days rations so he would give Amethyst the medicine for her burn, but she had also heard him refuse, laughing at Jasper before he walked out of the tent.

She had seen his arm for a split second, the thick scars peeking out from under his sleeve. She had smirked at the sight, the scars ran from his shoulder to his wrists, put there by her claws and fangs. She had attacked him her first week there, clawing up his arm that would never properly heal. He had starved her for a week, she was proud of what she had done, but looking at what he had done to Amethyst… 

She should have gone for his neck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honey Agate is a gem oc by http://molded-from-clay.tumblr.com/ who has kindly let me use her in my story


	8. Police Stations and Parties

**Jasper stirred softly, her ear twitching amongst her messy hair. Her eyes fluttered open, thick eyelashes framing dangerous amber eyes that took in the room around her. She was laying on a bed, amongst soft blankets that seemed to cocoon her in a safe, warm feeling.**

**She heard a soft groan behind her, she could feel the bed shift as someone behind her turned over, the blankets rolling with them, the fabric sliding across Jasper’s skin as it went closer to the source of the groan.**

**Japer turned over, a big yawn escaping her as she turned to look at the person. Messy, rainbow colored hair framed a sleeping face, umber skin, dark brown in color, peacefully relaxed. Hiding dark purple, almost eggplant colored eyes behind calm eyelids.**

**Jasper smiled, her eyes softening at the face of the gorgeous woman sleeping next to her.**

**The woman stirred, her stunning eyes fluttering open, dark purple meeting amber.**

**“Morning,” she greeted, her voice heavy from sleep.**

**“Morning Bismuth,” Jasper replied, moving closer to her.**

**“Sore?” Bismuth asked, a smirk forming on her face.**

**“Yeah, definitely sore,” Jasper replied, shifting slightly, wincing, she was very sore indeed.**

**Bismuth laughed, it barreled up through her chest and out into the world, it was like music to Jasper's ears.**

**Bismuth smiled, bringing her hand up from under the covers, running her fingers through Jasper’s thick, white hair gently. “You're so beautiful,” she whispered.**

**Jasper flushed red, her eyes widening widening at the surprise complement. “T-Thanks.”**

**Bismuth moved closer to Jasper, her lips moving but Jasper couldn't hear what she was saying, her vision was getting blurry. “Bismuth?” Her vision was going dark silence surrounding her, threatening to drown her. “BISMUTH!?”**

Jasper sat up quickly, sleep gone from her mind in a flash, the tent was in chaos. She looked around, her vision fuzzy from sleep, Dane was in handcuffs, police shoving him into a car. The others were being dragged out of their cages and marched out of the tent.

A police officer opened her cage door, she growled at him, her ears flattening to her head and her tail lowering in anger, her hands slowly changing into paws.

He took out a long pole, with some sort of wire on the end, she snarled at him, trying to avoid it but he managed to catch her around the neck with the wire, pulling her out of the cage and leading her out of the tent like the others.

Her steps were wobbly, unused to walking on two legs, stumbling after the man, a growl still rumbling in her throat.

There were two large trucks outside, dark gray with small windows on the doors, each guarded by metal bars, much like the ones on the cage she had just been inside.

She was thrown in a truck and the wire was removed from her neck. She sat up, looking around at the other creatures who occupied the truck. Garnet and Connie we're crying, Sapphire and Stevonnie trying their best to soothe the children.

They weren't the only ones in there with her, a good half of the hyenas were in there too, along with Honey and Aquamarine, who had grown quite close since the angry leopard had been dragged into the hell two weeks ago.

The truck roared to life, giving a lurch when it started moving, sending several of them falling to the cold, metal floor.

Jasper sat up, the Rutile twins sitting beside her, their tail curled around their shared body, shaking like leaves in the wind. She reached a buff hand over and pulled them closer to her gently, they looked up at her with wide, terrified eyes.

“It's ok, I won't let them hurt you two,” she told them quietly as they moved to be more in her lap, their tail curling around her waist slightly.

Jasper didn't mind, none of them knew what was going to happen to them. Sapphire and Padparadscha had their fluffy multi-colored wings curled around Garnet, the thirteen year old girl sniffling, Jasper guessed a runny nose from crying.

Stevonnie held Connie close to them, the baby deer creature had been lulled to sleep and was now quietly snoring against Stevonnie’s chest.

Jasper looked back down at the conjoined snake twins in her lap, they were hugging each other, leaning their heads against each others, their scaly tail coiled around themselves and around Jasper's waist.

The ride was bumpy and fast, many of them falling to the floor several times. They didn't know what was happening, or even where they were going, but the tension could be cut with a knife, or one of the sharp claws Jasper's nails had turned into when her hands had turned into paws.

The truck came to a stop, Jasper’s ears perking hearing doors opening and closing, and muffled voices outside. She tightened her hug around the Rutile twins, growling at the door as the voices grew louder, the lock of the truck making a noise as it was unlocked.

Jasper growled, several men and women staring at them from the outside of the truck. She held the conjoined twins closer to her, her ears flat, fur bristling, her fangs bared.

“Hey, hey, it’s ok,” a young woman in a uniform told them, raising her hands slightly, trying to show she means no harm. “We’re just trying to get you all into the training center.”

“Why should we trust you?” Jasper growled.

“There’s food and warm blankets inside,” the woman told them.

They all looked at each other, Jasper looked down at the twins, who had uncoiled their tail and were moving towards the doors of the truck, the young woman helping the conjoined snake twins down from the vehicle.

Jasper slowly followed them out, the other creatures following behind her silently. The woman offered Jasper help getting down from the truck but she ignored the hand, getting out of the truck and stumbling slightly on the pavement, struggling to stand on two legs after years of crawling around in the small cage.

Men in uniforms escorted them into the building, there were no signs of the other creatures which made Jasper worry. Some of the uniformed men and women were giving them looks Jasper didn’t understand, she didn’t know if she wanted to understand.

They were lead into a large room, little white stones making up the wall, with shiny, red blocks against the walls, some fabric hanging from metal poles with shiny, silver things mounted to the wall.

“What is this?” Jasper asked, her eyes wandered the room, noting several doors with a signs above them that stated ‘exit’.

“It’s a bathroom, haven’t you ever seen one before?” one of the younger women asked, her voice soft and timid, she was definitely no threat.

“No,” Jasper replied, “What do we do exactly?” she asked.

“I'll be able to help Jasper, I know what to do,” Sapphire spoke up, she was already helping Garnet undress, Jasper just followed her example.

“LET GO OF ME! SQUARIDOT!!!”

Jasper looked over at the familiar voice, Peridot was being dragged into the room, kicking and screaming for her brother. She ran over, growling at the women who held the thin blonde.

They dropped Peridot on the ground in front of Jasper, hurrying out of the room. 

“Peridot are you ok?” Sapphire asked, the blue haired mother rushing over to them.

“They won't let me go with Squaridot, they separated us!” Peridot whined.

“Peridot it's ok, you'll see him again soon,” Jasper reassured.

She only hoped she was right.

~~Empire city Western police station, 10:46 pm~~

Jasper walked into a large room, the floors were smooth, polished wood with different coloured lines painted on it. There were several piles of fabrics and cushions, many of the creatures had taken some of them to make nests.

Jasper looked around, all the freakshow creatures were there, Peridot and Squaridot happily back near each other and scoping out a good place on the polished floor to make their own nest.

She grabbed a few of the cushions and bundles of fabric making a nest in the corner near the hyenas. The fabrics were soft, warm, the cushions were also soft, but cool to the touch until she laid on them for a while, then they grew warm from her body heat.

The uniformed women came in, bidding them all a good night, telling them they were leaving and that they would all be safe in the large room. They informed them some visitors might show up but they weren't sure. They left some blue boxes with white lids, saying there were drinks and food inside before leaving the group of creatures alone.

Soon afterwards the festivities started, everyone was talking, some dancing, snuggling, singing, it was the most festive thing Jasper had ever seen.

Soon a familiar voice rang through the large room, everyone else falling silent. Jasper turned towards the entrance, Bismuth stood there in all her glory, singing a song Jasper often heard on the radio. She loved that song.

~So we back in the club~

~With the bodies rocking from side to side, side to side~

~Thank God the week is done~

~I feel like a zombie gone back to life, back to life~

Jasper stood silently, still a bit shaky on her feet, amber eyes wide, lips parted slightly in an inaudible gasp.

~Hands up, and suddenly we all got our hands up~

~No control of my body~

~Ain't I seen you before?~

~I think I remember those eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes~

Jasper’s ears perked, her tail starting to wag, a smile spreading across her face like a wildfire. Amber eyes lit up like fireworks, she loved the song, and Bismuth was casting her siren spell on her with it.

She wasn't going to take that, she knew the song backwards and forwards, even in Spanish (thanks to Amethyst).

~’Cause baby tonight, the DJ got us falling in love again~

~Yeah, baby tonight, the DJ got us falling in love again~

Jasper made her way towards Bismuth, swaying her hips hypnotically. Bismuth blushed but didn't stop her singing, they sang together in a siren duet, each entranced by each other, the other creatures in the room making the beats of the music with whatever they would find, some just watching with knowing smiles.

They danced with each other, they sang the entire song, the lines pouring from their lips. Hips swaying, eyes locking, hair flipping, caressing each other's faces and shoulders, seductive glances shared between them as they danced.

~So dance, dance, like it's the last, last night of your life, life~

~Gonna get you right~

~'Cause baby tonight, the DJ got us falling in love again~

They finished, Bismuth dipped Jasper, amber eyes wide at the sudden position, both panting softly, eyes locked as the other occupants of the room clapped, some cheering.

Bismuth let Jasper to her feet, pulling the creature woman in for a hug. “You’re out.”

Jasper hugged back, her tail wagging a mile a minute. “Yeah, I am,” she smiled.

~~pov shift Sapphire~~

Sapphire watched Jasper drag Bismuth to her nest, she had never seen the white haired woman so excited, it was nice.

She looked back at the small threesome of nests she was in, seeing her sister curled up sleeping in her own nest, while Garnet’s nest was right next to her own. 

She smiled down at the sleeping face of her daughter, all three eyes peacefully closed, feathers clean and smooth. It gave her great happiness to see her sister and daughter safe and warm for the first time in years.

A whistling noise came into focus, perking her interest as she begun to search the room for the source of the familiar tune. She noticed some other creatures casting smiles her way, she raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off, still searching for the source of the whistling, when an even more familiar voice filled the large room.

~I’ll swim and sail on savage seas~

~With never a fear of drowning~

~And gladly ride the waves of life~

~If you will marry me~

Sapphire froze, icey blue eyes widening behind pale blue bangs. She knew that voice.

~No scorching sun, nor freezing cold~

~Will stop me on my journey~

~If you will promise me your heart~

~and love~

Sapphire teared up, she knew the song, it was engraved on her heart. She lifted her head slightly, her soft singing escaping her throat.

~And love me for eternity~

~My dearest one, my darling dear~

~Your mighty words astound me~

She sung, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. Standing gracefully before turning to look at the beautiful red haired woman near the entrance of the room.

She walked towards Ruby, happy tears in her eyes as she sang softly.

~But I've no need of mighty deeds when I feel your arms around me~

Ruby’s eyes lit up, a large and goofy grin spreading across her face as she took one of Sapphire's hands and twirled her gently, singing her lines happily.

~But I would bring you rings of gold~

~I’d even sing you poetry~

Sapphire smiled, dancing with Ruby after all those years was amazing, it was like a dream. “Oh would you?”

~And I would keep you from all harm!~

~If you would stay beside me!~

Ruby's voice raised, her gemstone eyes shining with love and pride, that was her Sapphire singing, and stars how she had missed that voice. She fell silent to let Sapphire singing her part.

~I have no use for rings of gold~

~I care not for your poetry~

~I only want your hand to hold~

Sapphire sang, swinging around Ruby as they danced, their steps and spins gaining speed, making eye contact whenever they could, goofy smiles on their faces, Ruby singing her next part.

~I only want you near me~

The next part was fast, but they knew it, they both sung fast, their voices almost in perfect sync.

~To love, to kiss, to sweetly hold~

~For the dancing and the dreaming~

~Through all life’s sorrows and delights~

~I’ll keep your laugh inside me~

~I’ll swim and sail on savage seas~

~With never a fear of drowning~

~And gladly ride the waves of life~

~If you will marry me!~

Ruby spun Sapphire one last time as they sun the last part, lifting the winged woman off the ground, the last note stretching out from their vocal cords. 

The others in the large room clapped and cheered, Ruby and Sapphire giggling as Ruby lowered her wife to the ground, capturing her lips in a longing, passionate kiss.

They broke apart after a minute, both wishing the kiss could have been longer.

“I've been waiting twelve years to do that,” Ruby confessed.

“There's nothing stopping you now,” Sapphire replied, grabbing Ruby's shirt tightly and pulling her back in for another kiss.


	9. Party Animals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (its important to know that i dont usually use the whole song, just bits and pieces because if i went word for word the whole song then the chapter would be so long and people would get bored, i just wanted to make sure everyone knew why lines from the songs are missing, i know theyre there, im just trying to get the feel of the party without writing the songs out word for word.)

The party continued, all the creatures were dancing and singing, several of them had raided the blue and white boxes, finding several fizzy drinks, fruit and some meat. They were all excited for real food, the most mr Danger would feed them was animal food, and they could all agree it was disgusting. 

Ruby and Sapphire had taken to making out on a table in the corner of the room, no one looked over, giving the happy couple the privacy they needed while Padparadscha slept peacefully beside her baby niece.

Jasper and Bismuth had retreated to Jasper’s makeshift nest where they remained cuddling amongst the pile of blankets and pillows until Jasper decided to go exploring for food, Bismuth in tow.

Sugilite was watching the festivities silently from her nest near the food boxes. Her boredom eventually got the best of her and started tapping a familiar beat on one of the boxes, nodding her head to the beat of the song starting to play out in her head. 

~Let’s go to the beach, beach, let’s go get a wave~

~They say, what they gonna say, have a drink, clink, found the bud light~

~Bad bitches like me are hard to come by~

She started, some of the other occupants of the room looking over at her, she could feel their eyes on her but she didn’t care, she liked the song, everyone else had been singing, and she was just so completely bored.

~I’m on the floor, floor, I love to dance~

~So give me more, more, ‘til i can’t stand~

~Get on the floor, floor, like it’s your last chance~

~If you want more, more, then here I am~

She heard the doors opening, Sardonyx and Opal were coming in, she smiled, but she kept singing as she made her away over to them, swaying her hips like Jasper had done to Bismuth.

She sang the song to them like a serenade, she made her way over to the smiling couple. She really liked them, but they were engaged, and she was just a friend to them, even if she wanted to be more… They probably didn’t.

~Starships, were meant to fly~

~Hands up, and touch the sky~

~Can’t stop, cause we’re so high~

~Let’s do this one more time~

~Can’t stop~

She finished the song, looking into their eyes, all three of them had blushes across their faces. She couldn’t believe she had just done that, she could feel her hands and feet turning into paws, her tail was tucked in between her legs and her ears had flattened against her head.

“Sugilite that was amazing!” Opal finally broke their silence with a squeal.

“Whooo, if there were any doubts I’m gay they’re gone now.” Sardonyx added, a dark blush across her face.

Sugilite blushed, her ears perking as she started to turn back to normal. “You think?” 

“We know!” Opal hugged her tightly.

~~Peridot POV~~

Peridot sat off to the side, her brother had gone to talk with some of the other creatures around the boxes, she didn't mind, he looked happy. 

She had started singing a song but no one seemed to notice, or care. She tapped the floor with her hands to make the beat, the words spilling from her lips, it was a song she heard often, one that she barely ever paid attention to, it was some guy singing about a mermaid or something, she didn't care, it was a catchy song.

A familiar face flashed in her mind, navy blue eyes, cobalt blue hair, a slight dusting of a blush across the tan colored cheeks. Her own cheeks heated up, the song did remind her of Lapis. 

~Beauty in water~

~Angel on the beach~

~Ocean’s daughter~

~I thought love was out of reach~

She dragged out words, her voice rising in volume as Lapis’ face became clear in her head, imagining the beautiful human dancing to the song like some sort of siren that Peridot just had to continue singing for, just to see her dance.

~Had I known it could come true~

~I would have wished in 92~

~For a mermaid just like you~

She sang happily, dancing around, the bum ankle she's had for years not giving her any problems as she danced around, imagining Lapis dancing with her, their bodies in sync as they danced.

~Just like you~

~Woah~

~Just like you~

~Woah~

She let her voice trail off, she had just realised something. Lapis was there, it wasn't in her head! She had been dancing with Lapis the whole time!

Her face flushed a dark red, both of them were panting softly, sweat gleaming on their bodies from the dancing. Peridot didn't know when Lapis had got there, or when it had stopped being in her mind and actually there, but she didn't care, Lapis was there.

“Hey Peri,” Lapis breathed, her beautiful smile spreading across her face.

“H-Hey Lapis,” Peridot stuttered, mentally kicking herself for doing so.

Lapis blushed slightly, the pink dusting her cheeks. “You're out.”

“Yeah,” Peridot smiled.

“How does it feel to be free?” Lapis asked, pulling Peri to sit with her on the floor.

“I don't really know, I haven't been free long enough,” Peridot replied. “But if it's anything like right now, then I love it.”

Lapis blushed as Peridot leaned her head on the bluenette’s shoulder, her fluffy, sand colored ears tickling Lapis’ neck.

~~Amethyst POV~~

Amethyst watched the exchange silently, the three women looked so happy after Sugilite had finished singing. Sugilite did have an amazing singing voice, she had barely used it in the freakshow just to spite mr Danger, but Amethyst was glad she got to hear it again.

She winced softly, her burn was hurting a lot, her sisters said it was badly infected, but she felt like she was sick, she was burning up and she left like she was going to throw up. 

She leaned heavily against the wall, everyone was busy with someone else, and her sisters had grouped off by mate group except for Rain and Leah, but they were twins, they had each other. 

Amethyst wished Pearl was there, she felt so alone, and cold… Why did she feel so cold when her skin was burning? She whimpered softly, the pain in her chest was unbearable. 

She laid down silently, laying on her side on the cold, polished wood floors. The floor was cold, it cooled her skin slightly, but not enough to get rid of the heat completely, or the pounding headache, but it did add to her shivering. Why was she so cold?

Eventually she gave up, letting herself slip away into unconsciousness and away from the pain that seized her body.

~~Police station training gym, 7:30 am~~

Everyone woke at the noise of the doors, many still sleepy from the partying the night before. Many police officers came in, some were creatures others were human, but they seemed fine with it.

They went to each creature and started to lead them out of the large room.

Amethyst followed silently, she still felt sick but there wasn't much she could do. Her body felt like it was on fire but she was shivering, it made no sense. 

She was lead into a room with a metal table and posters everywhere. Shiny metal tools sat on a cart like thing and cotton balls sat in jars. Amethyst looked around confused, the room looked so clean, she didn't belong in there.

“Don't worry it's just our medical wing, all of you need to be checked over,” the nice police woman reassured her. 

Amethyst looked back at the woman, she had warm brown eyes, dark brown hair and German Shepherd ears and a tail which was wagging softly behind her. Amethyst smiled, “so what do I do?” She asked.

“Just have a seat on the table, the doctor will be in soon,” she explained, she backed out of the door and closed it softly, leaving Amethyst alone in the room.

Amethyst finally let her walls down, a pained grunt escaping her throat as she clutched the shirt material over her chest tightly. The pain was burning, a sharp, stabbing pain. That wouldn't let up and it was tearing her apart from the inside.

She whimpered, her ears lay flat against her head and her tail lay still beside her leg. Her face screwed up, her nose wrinkling and her eyes squeezing shut. Tears beading at the corners of her eyes.

The door opened, snapping her attention to the woman who had just walked in. She was pale, long red hair framed her face nicely. Two red fox ears peeked out from her hair, the fluffy tail swishing behind her.

“Hello, I'm doctor Yent, I'm supposed to check you over,” she introduced.

Amethyst waved, only putting half effort into it, she was in too much pain to care. “Amethyst.”

“Well than Amethyst, I've been told you have a wound on your chest, please remove your shirt.”

Amethyst shyly lifted the shirt over her head, she couldn't stop the wince as the fabric brushed against her burn, her muscles tensed up from the stinging pain. She pulled it off and let the white fabric fall from her hand onto the tile floor of the room.

“Oh my goodness!” Doctor Yent exclaimed. She rushed over to the purple haired woman on the table. “What happened to you!?”

Amethyst’s eyes widened, she hadn't expected that response at all, she looked down at her chest and realised why.

The wound was raw, red, dried blood all over her chest and fluids that we're not blood covering the wound, the charred black flesh covered in puss and dried blood, it was a horrific sight.

Doctor Yent went to the sink, grabbing latex gloves from a box and sliding them onto her hands. “That wound is horribly infected, I'm surprised you're still conscious,” she said.

Amethyst remained silent, her head was swimming, black spots were filling her vision and she felt dizzy. Everything kind of blurred out, she could hear faint mumblings of doctor Yent talking, a fuzzy blob of that vaguely resembled the doctor she was listening to.

“I d-don’t feel good,” she confessed. It wasn't a lie, she hadn't been feeling good for weeks, saying the wound hurt would be an understatement, it was like she was being tortured from the inside out.

Her vision went black as she surrendered herself to the void of unconsciousness, the pain disappeared like mist on a summer morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> songs used
> 
> Starships  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4cFNwqX8hA
> 
> mermaid  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mref-4AZkNE


	10. Down Time

Pearl paced outside of the door, she had been told Amethyst was in there receiving treatment but she had been reluctant to go in. Amethyst's wound had been horrible, she wasn't sure if she wanted to see such an injury ever again, but she did want to see Amethyst.

Making up her mind she went up to the door, fist raised to knock when a woman in a bloody doctor's uniform came out, surprised to see the peach haired woman.

“You must be here for Amethyst, she woke up just a few minutes ago, you can go see her if you want,” the doctor told her.

“What do you mean woke up?” Pearl asked nervously.

“Her injury was infected, she lost consciousness, not surprising but she gave me a good scare, I did what I could for now, it will be a long time before that heals, but there will be a scar,” the doctor explained.

Pearl felt like fainting, she could barely register thanking the doctor before the woman walked off leaving Pearl standing before the oak wood door. She opened the door hesitantly, peeking in, scared of what she could find.

Amethyst looked over at the sound, her ears perking up in curiosity. She didn’t have a shirt on, just bandages wrapped around her chest covering her breasts. Upon seeing Pearl her tail started wagging, and her indigo eyes got all sparkly. “Pearl!”

Pearl smiled as she walked over. “Hello Amethyst,” she greeted.

Amethyst’s tail wagged fast, sometimes hitting the metal table making a soft thud noise. “You missed one heck of a party last night.”

“Oh? Celebrating were you?” She smiled at the hyena woman.

“Oh yeah, almost everyone was singing, everyone agrees that Ruby and Sapphire were the cutest though, Peri’s serenade to Lapis was good too though,” Amethyst told her.

“So that’s why she looked so happy when I saw her this morning,” Pearl thought aloud, “What song did Peridot sing?” she asked.

“Mermaid, by some sort of train,” Amethyst replied.

“You mean Mermaid, by Train?” Pearl asked, one of her eyebrows raising slightly in question.

“Yeah that’s it!” Amethyst exclaimed, giving Pearl a goofy looking grin.

“You all must be very excited to get out of there,” Pearl smiled at her.

“Of course we are, though this place is quite scary to us, so many sad looking people shuffling us around,” Amethyst explained.

“Zareen set a court date for next week, she has more than enough evidence, but you’re all going to have to give testimonies on the stand,” Pearl explained to her.

“What’s a testimony?” Amethyst asked, Pearl figured she had to be joking, but seeing the absolutely confounded look on the purple haired womans face, she knew Amethyst wasn’t joking.

“Oh, well it’s when you have to give a statement about something in a courtroom, like let’s say if someone abused me i would have to go give a testimony of all the things they did to me,” She explained.

“So basically we have to go and tell someone what he did to us? How many things do they have planned that day? Because they might need to cancel things,” Amethyst replied.

“That big of a list huh?” Pearl asked.

“Oh yeah, it would take all day to tell you everything!” Amethyst exclaimed.

“You two seem to be having fun.”

Amethyst’s tail stopped wagging, her fur on her ears and tail immediately stood on end, bristling up as her eyes widened, fear filling the indigo pools.

Pearl looked at the door and was revealed it was just the doctor had returned, wearing fresh clothes. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you Amethyst,” She apologised.

Amethyst’s fur lay flat once more, her ears just slightly droopy. “Sorry…” 

“It’s not a problem Amethyst, can you please hop off the table? I need to measure your height and weight,” The doctor asked politely, her voice was soft and kind that put Amethyst and Pearl at ease.

“Yeah ok,” Amethyst replied casually, she slipped down from the table and followed the doctor over to the scale, Pearl remained where she was, she didn’t know if she should leave or stay but she decided she would stay unless told to leave.

She would stay for Amethyst.

 

~~Empire City, Western Police station, 3:00 PM~~

Pearl and Amethyst joined everyone else in the gymnasium, creatures and humans alike were drinking cold beverages, eating snacks, singing or even dancing, some of Amethyst’s sisters were dancing in a kick line while others watched and laughed. Sharky, Jay and Chip sat off to the side talking to Holly quietly while the snow leopard fiddled with her tail.

“So what do we do now?” Amethyst asked, looking up at Pearl.

“Zareen is coming by later to talk to you all, she wants to take notes of everything he did,” she saw Amethyst opening her mouth to say something and cut her off. “Yes she canceled everything she had today.”

Amethyst laughed, Pearl smiled, she loved that laugh.

“So how is this going to work?” Amethyst asked looking up at Pearl. “Do we line up? Does she call us into a seperate room?”

“I assume she will call you into another room one at a time,” Pearl replied.

“Ok.” Amethyst replied, trailing off slightly as she gazed around the room at the other creatures.

The door opened behind them, Peridot and Squaridot walking in quietly, their tails twined together tightly. Their tails coming undone when Lapis tackled Peridot to the ground in a hug, the fox woman blushing and giggling.

Pearl smiled at the sight but her attention was drawn back to Amethyst at the soft groan that came from the hyena woman. She looked at Amethyst, the purple haired woman was clutching at her bandaged chest with a pained grimace. 

“Amethyst?” Pearl asked, pulling Amethyst to sit on the floor with her. “Does your burn hurt?” 

Amethyst nodded, her ears flat against her head with a soft, pathetic whimper escaping her.

Pearl waved over Amethyst’s sisters, the whole pack of hyena women were surrounding them within seconds, looking the smaller woman over carefully.

Amethyst looked up at them, her vision was fuzzy and steadily growing darker until her eyes closed and she drifted off into the darkness.

~~Hours later~~

Amethyst awoke to the sight of all her sisters surrounding her, Jay fanning her face with a piece of paper, which explained why Amethyst felt a bit cold. Their frowns turned into wide grins upon seeing she had woken up.

“Ame, you’re awake!” Sharky exclaimed, picking her up and hugging her tightly. Amethyst squirmed, squealing that Sharky was going to smother her.

“I can’t breathe!” she squealed, struggling in the older woman’s grip. Sharky let out a loud laugh that barreled up through her chest shaking Amethyst.

Sharky let her go, giving a sharp toothed grin as she did so, pale, pinkish purple eyes shining mischievously. 

“Jay, your turn.”

Amethyst looked towards the source if the voice, a tall woman with fluffy blonde hair that pointed upwards almost in a point, it was shaved around the back of her head and the sides, her ears had two tiny, shiny things and she was wearing a nice suit with a little scarf folded over underneath her chin, a small gemstone pin keeping it in place.

“Ok,” Jay replied, standing from the group, leaving the folded paper she has been using to fan Amethyst on the floor as she walked to the woman.

They walked away, disappearing behind a heavy looking metal door.

Amethyst tilted her head to the side then looked at her other family for answers.

“That's Zareen, she's a law person-” Sharky was interrupted. 

“Lawyer,” Rosie corrected.

“Like I said, law person,” Sharky grinned. “She's here to talk to everyone one on one about everything that happened, we seem to be coming back a lot faster than the others.”

“Well you weren't there very long,” Amethyst replied.

“We were there too long in my opinion,” Chip muttered, hugging herself tightly.

“We don't know how you survived that hell for twelve years,” Kay hugged her, squeezing her tightly before loosening her grip, laying her chin on Amethyst's head when she pulled the smaller woman to sit in her lap.

~~Empire City, Western Police Station Interrogation Room, 7:30 PM~~

“Do you mind if I record this? I need to go over the tape later, might even have to play them in court, is that ok with you?”

“No I don't mind,” Jay replied. 

Zareen turned on the recorder.

“Alright, raise your right hand,” Zareen waited for Jay to follow. “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god?”

“I do,” Jay answered.

“Please state your name for the record,” Zareen requested.

“Jaylene Indigonum,” Jay replied.

“You are aware you are being desposed in the case against the freakshow owner Dane Danger?” Zareen asked.

Jay felt a little bit intimidated, Zareen was using words she didn't recognise, not even at a distance. “Yes I am.”

 

It was a few hours before Jay was allowed to return to everyone else, it felt like forever in her eyes, a bunch of strangely worded questions that she didn't quite understand and words she had never heard before. 

She had returned to her sisters and snuggled up with them, the large cuddle pile was very warm from all the shared body heat. Sharky noticed holly looked lonely and had waved her over, the timid snow leopard woman walking over and joining them hesitantly snuggling into the warm fur and thick hair of the hyenas.

Jay messed with Holly’s hair for a bit, running her fingers through the soft hair that was as fluffy as Holly’s fur. A soft purring noise rolled up through Holly’s throat, the hyena women all smiled at the faint noise, all of them pampering the snow leopard with pets and cuddles until the creatures decided it was lights out, after all, they all needed the rest.

The trial was only 2 days away.


	11. The Trial

Squaridot paced silently, they all sat outside the courtroom waiting to be called in, every creature from the show was in the hall outside the courtroom, most clung to each other and some, were standing, leaning on the wall or pacing like Squaridot.

Zareen was inside waiting for the case to start, Mr. Danger was being escorted from the holding cell to the courtroom.

He was escorted through the hallway, right by all the creatures and told to wait until he was called in, so he stood outside the courtroom doors.

He looked to the creatures, his eyes twinkling with deadly emotions. “You should all give up, make this easier on yourselves,” he told them.

They all exchanged glances, fur standing on end. 

“I’ll make this simple. You all tell the judge that I treat you good, we go back to the freakshow and everything goes back to normal, you tell them anything else and your punishments will be tenfold what I did to the little hyena,” he threatened.

They all looked at Amethyst as she looked down at the bandages under her shirt that covered her injury, wincing at the thought of everyone else going through that.

“If you don't comply your punishments will be severe, you'll be calling me king by the time I'm done with you,” he smirked and disappeared past the courtroom doors when he was called in.

They all looked at each other again, they were all thinking the same thing.

“We should just listen.”

They all looked at Aquamarine, the butterfly woman stood near the end of the couch, her eyes cast to the ground. “If we do what he says he might go easy on us.”

“But he won't, he never does!” Squaridot shouted, ears flat and his tail whipping back and forth angrily, eyes narrowed.

“He might though…” Topaz whispered, her dull gold eyes focused on the floor.

“He won't, how many times has he lied to us about anything, promising Peridot if she sung a bit then he would give her medicine for me then not doing it, promising not to clip Garnets wings anymore if Sapphire sung more, he still does it! Garnet can’t fly!” He shouted.

“But if we go against him and he wins it will be so much worse than it has to be,” Rhodonite argued, her ears flat and her tail tucked between her legs.

“But what if we go against him and win? We could be free, no more pain, no more collars! We could live our lives!” He shouted.

“Enough Squaridot, they're right, we shouldn't go against him,” Jasper butt in, glaring at Squaridot with molten amber eyes. “We're going to do what he says, it's the safest thing for us all.”

Squaridot turned and glared at the door Mr Danger disappeared through. He was sick and tired of this, he wanted to fight.

“Any moment now, your highness,” he spat, glaring at the door. “Believe me I know, I've sunk pretty low, but whatever I've done you deserve,” he smirked, thinking of the many scars the man had below that suit of his that came from Squaridots claws.

“Squaridot,” Peridot started.

“Quiet!” He snapped at her, glaring at his sister over his shoulder. “I'm the bad guy that's fine,” he turned to look her in the eyes. “It's no fault of mine, and some justice at last will be served,” he sang.

“Please listen,” Peridot pleaded but he just walked past her.

“Now it's time to step up or it's time to back down and there's only one answer for me~” he sung. “And I'll stand up and fight because I know that I'm right,” he continues to sing as he walked down the hall in-between all the creatures. “And I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready! Ready as I'll ever be!” He sung loudly, turning to look at all of them in the hall as he trailed off a bit.

They all looked at each other, most just thought he was nuts, they couldn't fight against Mr Danger, they would be killed.

“Now it's time to rise up or it's time to stand down and the answer is easy to see~” Limone spoke up, adding on to Squaridot's song as she stood from her seat. “And I swear on my word if you're in get onboard are you ready?”

They all stared at her in shock, Limone had been effected so much by Mr Danger, she was terrified of him, but she was still on Squaridot's side to fight.

“I'm ready!” Stevonnie shouted jumping up from their seat, Connie snuggled into their arms peacefully.

“We’re ready, We're ready!”everyone else joined in.

“Ready as I'll ever be!” Limone sang, moving to stand beside Squaridot who gave her a grateful smile.

Sharky moved to sit next to Amethyst, ears still flat, her mind clouded with doubt. “Are you quite sure we can do this?” She asked.

Amethyst nodded and jumped up “together we will guarantee!” She sung.

“I'll make them hear me!” Squaridot started again.

“I'll save my whole family!” Sapphire added, hugging Garnet close to her.

“Now the lines in the sand and our moments at hand!” Everyone sang.

“And I'm ready,” Amethyst sang.

“I'm ready” Sapphire added.

“I’m ready,” Limone.

Squaridot walked towards the courtroom doors “Ready as I'll” he trailed off a bit “ever, be!” Squaridot ended suddenly, looking back at all of them.

The door opened and a police officer poked his head out. “Jasper for the stand?”

Jasper stood and walked into the room, all the creatures quieted down, trying to hear what was happening in the courtroom but the doors were soundproof, not a sound was heard.

~~About half an hour later~~

Jasper was escorted back outside of the courtroom, her ears flat and her amber eyes staring at the floor. She moved silently and sat beside Stevonnie, the deer creature looked up at her with ears perked in interest but they fell at a small shake of Jasper’s head.

“What happened in there?” Squarido asked.

“It was horrible, that awful man kept asking me questions i couldn’t answer without him making it seem like Dane is good!” She groaned, putting her head in her hands.

“How so?” Zandra asked, hugging her red panda tail close to her, fiddling with her fur.

“He asked if Dane feeds us, I started to say only when we beg and plead, but he cut me off and told me to answer the question yes or no, and I couldn’t lie, I swore to tell the truth, so I said yes, and he took that to say that Dane isn’t bad!” she explained, groaning into her hands again.

“We just need to turn this around, isn’t Zareen going to defend us?” Sugilite asked.

“Yeah, I wish you all luck,” Jasper responded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was hours of ruthless questioning before Zareen was able to call them to the stands, she asked good questions and made them go into grim and gruesome detail about what Dane had done to all of them, even having Amethyst take her bandages off to show her horrific burn.

It turned out almost all of the creatures had scars from him that Zareen had asked them to disclose in front of the judge. 

Sapphire had a scar on her hand from when mr danger carved into her bonding mark with a knife, Ruby had almost jumped out of her seat in outrage if not for Bismuth holding her still and covering her mouth.

Garnet had been brought to the stand, where she had been gently questioned before asking if she had any scars or injuries. She told the court that when Dane found out about her mothers bonding marks he had carved them into her hands, as a punishment for her mothers being lesbian.

Ruby had been furious, the bonding marks were sacred to creatures, for him to defile their sacred marks was horrible, and to scar her daughter by carving those marks into her hands was despicable.

Jasper had been called back to the stand to talk about the scar over her nose, it was very faded but she told them that it had happened the night Dane killed her parents in front of her, then scared her nose where father’s dragon horn had been. 

Peridot and Squaridot had been called up individually, they both testified that Dane promised to give Peridot the medicine for her brother then denied it to her, and blinded Squaridot in one eye when they were about 10.

The court was told everything, Zandra’s square, gem-like scar over her chest from cigarette burns, Limone’s circle shaped scar over her chest from a knife. Holly revealed a burn from a branding iron on the back of her head where her head and neck met that the other creatures hadn’t known she had. 

Aquamarine told of her tear shaped scar, Emerald about her eye, Stevonnie about the scar over their stomach, and how they had to deal with Kevin for years because he kept threatening to hurt Connie, and Topaz told the court about how Dane had put on fake metal claws, heated them up and scratched over her ears.

It took weeks to get to every creature, hear every story, they knew nothing of law but the creatures definitely thought Zareen was amazing at her job. Sadly, they still had a full week to wait until the final ruling.

They all hoped the judge would rule in their favour, then they could get proper medical attention and finally get those damn collars off their necks. Zareen had told them the medical team weren’t allowed to do anything more than emergency medical treatment unless the judge arrested Dane, or at least awarded all the creatures to the police department for care.

They all thought they had a fighting chance, and they hoped they could keep it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone, thank you for being so patient  
> I finally got all my ducks in a row and managed to finish the last few pages of the chapter  
> the song used in the chapter is ready as ill ever be from the tangled series  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRbx6GTK71Y   
> of course I did change the lyrics a bit to fit the story  
> anyway thank you all for reading, happy halloween day after tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!


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